The Chrysalis Letters

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 2 - Service with a Smile
Chapter 3 - To Lead and Mislead
Chapter 4 - Rarity's Spa Confession
Chapter 5 - Insider Information
Chapter 6 - Deception and Disgrace
Chapter 7 - The Inspection
Chapter 8 - Internal Dissent
Chapter 9 - A Unanimous Decision
Chapter 10 - Infiltration and Exfiltration
Chapter 11 - No Way Out
Chapter 12 - Pony Accommodations
Chapter 13 - Seeing the Sun
Chapter 14 - The Princess in Chains
Chapter 15 - Secrets and Truths
Epilogue
Chapter 1 - Open for Business

Prologue

Over the ages it has often been debated, with varying degrees of civility, about what makes a ruler great. The staunchest of Princess Celestia’s allies and subjects would tell you that it is a ruler’s kindness and benevolence to those that she governs, while the denizens of the Crystal Empire would say that it is the ruler’s ability to keep her ponies safe from harm, no matter the cost. Still others in the Griffon Kingdom maintain that it is a monarch’s wealth and treasure that distinguish him as superior.

Yet despite the vast differences in ideology and culture, there is one aspect that every nation agrees on when it comes to rulers: they either rise or fall by those that they govern. Princess Celestia’s willingness to use the Elements of Harmony to banish her own sister to defend her ponies, the Crystal Ponies’ pivotal role in banishing King Sombra, even King Guto of Griffonstone’s legacy had become a kind of cautionary tale back in griffon lands about the perils of kingship.

And then there was Queen Chrysalis…

One of the most controversial figures in recent history, the Changeling Queen and her species had garnered a recent flare of fear and hostility from their invasion of Canterlot. Almost overnight, the changelings had gone from a widely ignored and obscure race to the equivalent of the modern-day bogeymares. Stories about changelings hiding under the beds of young foals and in their closets were spreading like wildfire across Equestria, a rumor that was all too easy to perpetuate as the recountings of the wedding got blown more and more out of proportion with each retelling.

The truth, however, was far less sensational.

Those who had actually been at the royal wedding would be the first to tell anypony who asked that the changelings had been beaten back by the efforts of the newly wed Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, every last one of them flung from the capital with their queen out to the desolate badlands. Indeed, the newlyweds were hailed as heroes of the city, and there was already talk of a memorial being erected in their honor for driving out every last one of the invaders.

The truth, however, was far less convenient.

Every ruler rises and falls by those they govern. Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings, was no exception. While many a pony was still swapping tall tales about their self-aggrandized deeds of bravery during the short time that the changelings had been in control of the city, Princess Celestia sat up in her study, staring at her desk without seeing it, piercing the antique lacquered surface with a squint that could have cut glass and probably even steel.

Everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong during the wedding, had gone wrong, and Celestia herself had been helpless in her effort to stop the changelings, going as far as to losing to the changeling queen in a one on one battle.

That had been a tad bit embarrassing.

Her body was as still as a statue, but her brain was racing at supersonic speeds, each of her thoughts a radiant bead of light glimmering in the smog of questions that besieged the princess’ mind.

One droplet of light glowed a little brighter than the rest. It was a memory, and not an altogether pleasant one, a fact further exacerbated by the long and vividly accurate ability to remember the past that alicorns possessed. It was a memory of burning homes and crumbling walls, of fleeing ponies being stalked by shape-shifting creatures, all stained and blackened by the shame of arriving just a hair too late.

It was, of course, the Siege of Trot. A proud city, back in its time, and a cultural heartland as well, ruled by one Emperor Incitatus. A competent, if overly vain ruler who had met his end at the hooves of Chrysalis so very long ago.

Celestia closed her eyes and allowed the memory to bloom fully before her. She remembered it well; She had seen the smoke rising from the fallen city all the way from Canterlot like a distress signal and had rallied her Solar guards to fly to the rescue, but by the time they had flown to Trot, it was already in ruins. That, Celestia fancied, was the day when she and Chrysalis had truly become enemies, and the encounter had ended with her using the sun’s energy to blast the Changeling Queen with enough force to sear holes through her body, and then imprisoning them inside a volcano.

Celestia turned her head to one of her windows, setting her eyes out on at the sunny sky. A pair of blue birds flew by, chirping happily as though there wasn’t a care in the world. They obviously didn’t know what the kingdom had just gone through and the sun princess didn’t blame them. Perhaps it was better they didn’t know.

Back to the volcano...

She had assumed they would be trapped there still. They had even made sure there was the security measure of the dragon to keep them from ever escaping. Evidently Chrysalis was either a lot stronger or smarter than Celestia had given her credit for.

Or was she?

Something still didn’t sit well about the whole Canterlot invasion. The princess opened her eyes to give the window a troubled look. How was it that Trot and Timbucktu had fallen so easily to the changelings when they had been at an advantage, and Canterlot stayed standing despite Chrysalis’ near absolute victory? How had she even infiltrated the castle without anypony knowing any better? How had she kidnapped an alicorn princess and stashed her deep in the caverns below? There were too many questions.

As Celestia readied herself to depart for the Day Court and all the complaints that were sure to come with it, she could not help but wonder where Chrysalis was right now, and what she might be doing.

Unbeknownst to her, Celestia was not the only princess wondering that.

Not at all.

Author's Note

And so it begins.

Chapter 2 - Service with a Smile

“Welcome to the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlor!” Aeon greeted as the glass double front doors swung open. He was wearing a smart black bow tie and his silver mane was slicked back with gel.

It was one of their usual patrons, Pretty Flanks, and she did not look too pleased today.

“Yes. Usual coat treatment for me…” She magicked her hat and coat over to a rack by the side of the lobby. “It got quite matted during the invasion. It has been a great annoyance even living with such a disaster on my back.”

“Of course. It just so happens we have no other customers today, so we can get to your treatment immediately.”

After receiving payment, Aeon noted down Pretty Flanks’ name and particulars in his ledger as Ruby Gleam and Golden Lily trotted out, both wearing starched white aprons and headbands to keep their manes out of the way.

“Right this way, Miss,” Lily chirped, leading their charge toward one of the onsen rooms.

The unicorn followed along behind them, walking down the corridors of black marble that were lined with rather nondescript pictures, most of them displaying views of Canterlot and picturesque beaches, none of them interesting enough to command anypony’s attention for very long. Flameless lanterns provided illumination, and the hoofsteps of all three were muffled by a plush red carpet underhoof.

“Disgusting insects…” Pretty Flanks looked at her back, where residue of goo refused to remove themselves from her coat. “Why did they have to come bother us? They were doing fine on their own all this while. Now look at me… It is a shame they were thrust from Canterlot instead of being imprisoned and tried.”

“That would certainly have produced a different outcome,” Ruby nodded, pushing open a pair of dark wooden doors to reveal another room, also constructed with black marble. A steaming, raised bath, made of the same material as the room, the size of a small pool dominated the center of the space, wafting perfumed steam all around. The room was softly lit with candles.

“If you’ll just climb in, Miss,” Golden Lily gestured to the water. “We’ll get onto cleaning your coat and mane whenever you’re ready.”

Pretty Flanks wasted no time mounting the steps and lowering herself into the onsen, settling down in the water with a happy sigh.

“I’m ever so glad this place was open today,” Pretty Flanks commented contentedly. “A lot of spas are closed because of the invasion. As if that’s a reason to deny paying customers basic services.”

“So true, Miss Flanks.” Lily grabbed a roll of towels from a rack at the side and a wooden bucket. “Ponies are just finding an excuse to have a day off.”

While Golden Lily began to use her magic to shampoo their customer’s coat with a lavender-scented wash, Ruby Gleam went over to the shelf on the side and took out three sticks of incense, placing them into a small ornate pot and lighting them skillfully with a match. Any client who came in for the Metamorphosis’ comforts would be treated to this special incense; it was practically advertised in the flyers that the spa used ‘exotic eastern aromatherapy’ to relax ponies and provide the perfect spa experience.

“Ahhh, this smell always helps to calm me down…” Pretty Flanks rested her head on the edge of the bath. “Helps take my mind off the changeling attack.”

“We’re pleased that you’re enjoying it,” Lily purred as she scrubbed gently away at the goo that was ingrained in Pretty Flanks’ purple coat. Thanks to Lily’s ministrations and the sweet-smelling shampoo, the dried slime and dirt came out easily.

The air soon grew hazy with scented smoke, but neither Ruby Gleam nor Golden Lily seemed affected in the slightest. Pretty Flanks, on the other hoof, was so relaxed now that she was almost nodding off.

Golden Lily finished washing their customer’s mane and used the bucket to gently pour warm water on her head, rinsing out the bubbles and bringing her back to the waking world.

“Huh? Wha-?” Pretty Flanks snorted, swinging her head to and fro. “Oh. Yes, very nice work you’ve done on my coat. I couldn’t get it off on my own.”

“Would you like to move on to your massage now, or do you want to stay and soak a bit longer?” Ruby Gleam stood by with a fluffy white bathrobe.

“Should I stay or should I go?” the unicorn mused out loud. “I think I’ll stay another ten minutes or so. Your baths are really one of a kind.”

“As you wish, Miss Flanks,” Golden Lily said gently. She stepped back away from the bath and glanced at Ruby. The pegasus smiled at her companion and went to tidy up the towels. Lily herself excused herself from the room, exiting into the hallway and trotting toward the massage room.

This room was, like the previous one, lit with warm candles that reflected off the black marble walls. A pair of massage beds were placed next to one another, divided by a curtain should two different clients use the room at once. And seated at the far end of the room was a light pink unicorn with a windswept blue mane. She was tuning a large golden harp that was placed on top of a raised pedestal.

“Harpsy Chord,” Golden Lily inclined her head. “Our first client of the day will be here in about ten minutes.”

“Excellent,” The pink unicorn did not take her eyes off her harp, plucking each string slowly to see if any were out of tune. “Have Silent Moon take over for Aeon. He knows what to bring.”

“Of course,” Golden Lily bowed her head again and vacated the room.

Any visitor to the Metamorphosis could tell you about the talented harp player who worked there, usually during massage sessions. Her harp playing was married with the deliciously soothing setting, the incense, and the talented hooves of the masseuses to create an atmosphere of utter and total relaxation. Everypony swore that by the time they left the massage rooms, they felt like an entirely new pony, as if a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

Harpsy Chord smirked to herself in the solitude of the massage room. It was almost time for her performance. Her harp was tuned, her hooves ready, and Aeon would soon be along to do what he always did during her performances.

Ruby Gleam entered about five minutes later, mentioning that Lily had stayed at their charge’s side to dry her with magic and get her into the robe.

“Our customer, Pretty Flanks, has been complaining all about the changeling invasion and how disgusting they are.” Ruby Gleam rolled her eyes as she prepped the towels on the massage table. “Though I think the treatment has managed to calm her down a bit.”

“Ah, so it’s her, is it?” Harpsy Chord said mildly. “I hear that she is a bit at odds with her husband. Though, I suspect we’ll hear it right from the horse’s mouth soon.” Ruby Gleam laughed at the fitting expression.

Moments later, Golden Lily entered with a drowsy-looking Pretty Flanks.

“Our customer is ready for her massage now,” Lily announced.

“Good, good. If you’ll just step over this way, Miss Flanks, we’ll get you sorted out in no time at all…”

The unicorn sprawled herself over the table, resting her right cheek against the cushioned surface, waiting for the other two ponies to get ready. Ruby Gleam flew up above the prone unicorn and dipped her hooves in a bowl of massage oil, ready to start her regimen. As she did so, Golden Lily trotted to the four corners of the room and lit more sticks of incense. The air began to grow opaque with the smoke, and to add the finishing touch, graceful, delicate harp music filled the air. The room had excellent acoustics and the harp’s song touched down ever so softly on Pretty Flanks’ ears.

With Ruby firmly kneading at Pretty Flanks’ back and the incense and the harp player’s performance, it created a void of comfort that no pony, not even a princess, could have withstood. In no time at all, Pretty Flanks was fast asleep, dreaming pleasant dreams while her body was expertly worked over.

“Miss Flanks?” Golden Lily said softly, gently poking the sleeping pony’s cheek. She poked harder, but still got no reaction. Lily grinned, then held open one of Pretty Flanks’ eyelids, peering into the eyeball within. Nothing. “It’s all good, she’s out like a light.”

“Fantastic,” Ruby Gleam said, continuing her massage. “Never fails, that incense.”

The door to the massage room inched open, revealing the pale face of Aeon. He held a dark notebook in his magical aura and there was a pen tucked behind his ear.

“Ah, just in time, Aeon,” Harpsy Chord said with a nod. “We were just about to get started.”

Aeon pulled a stool out from a half-hidden alcove in the wall and settled down in it, levitating the pen from behind his ear and putting the point to a fresh page in his notebook. Golden Lily took over playing the harp as Harpsy Chord left the instrument, stalking closer to the slumbering Pretty Flanks.

“It’s been a few weeks since we did this to her,” The harp player said to her fellows. “Let’s see if we’ll learn anything new.”

Harpsy Chord got right in Pretty Flanks’ face and peeled back her eyelids with her hooves. Her horn lit up green and her eyes became emerald vortexes, swirling like whirlpools. Pretty Flanks’ mouth opened, working away as if trying to say something.

“Speak,” Harpsy Chord commanded in a hypnotic voice that sounded like two ponies talking at once. “Tell me your secrets.”

“Yes…” Pretty Flanks droned, her eyes gazing directly into the spiralling depths of Harpsy Chord’s own. “I will tell you my secrets…”

And she did. For the following half an hour, Pretty Flanks spilled a torrid love affair that she had been having with her daughter’s piano teacher. Some of the details were already known to the spa staff, but some of the more recent events were quite juicy. Aeon’s pen raced across his notebook, recording everything with pinpoint accuracy. Throughout it all, Ruby Gleam continued to knead and rub down Pretty Flanks’ body, and by the time the whole story had been told, all the knots and aches in her body had been completely rubbed out.

“And that’s it? There is nothing else?” Harpsy Chord asked once Pretty Flanks’ story had ended.

“No… there’s nothing else…” The slumbering pony said in monotone. “Everything else… is common knowledge…”

“You’ve done well,” The harp player intoned. “Now go back to sleep.” The green glow faded away.

On command, the unicorn placed her head back on the massage table and drifted off to sleep in only a few seconds.

“Juicy.” Aeon clipped the pen back on the board and smiled. “I wonder what her husband would think of this.”

Lily snickered with a hoof to her mouth. “The piano teacher? Really?”

Harpsy Chord retook her place on the harp. “Lily, go prepare the cocktail lounge. We’ll be done here shortly. Aeon, you may return to the front desk.”

Golden Lily nodded and left the room with Aeon.

Ruby hopped off of Pretty Flanks’ back and proceeded to wash her the massage oil from her hooves in the sink in the corner. Harpsy Chord slowly let her music dwindle away, the last fading note leaving the room in near silence.

“Mm?” Pretty Flanks murmured, her eyelids twitching.

“Your treatment has concluded, Miss Flanks,” Ruby Gleam told her as she began to stir. “I trust you had a pleasant time?”

“I feel… incredible!” Pretty Flanks exclaimed as Ruby helped her off the massage table. “Like a completely new pony!”

“Thank you for coming,” Harpsy Chord said gracefully, stepping down from her harp. “Would you like to enjoy a complimentary cocktail before you go?”

A cocktail was always offered to each customer before they left. Any residual twinges from the massage room would be attributed to the liquor, and plus, it was a great perk to coming to the Metamorphosis. It also helped that the spa had a bar that rivaled many actual watering-holes in the city.

Pretty Flanks gladly accepted the drink before leaving, feeling so much better than when she had first entered the spa.

“Another happy pony leaving.” Golden Lily cantered in a loop. “Another bunch of happier spa attendees.”

“So much positive emotion and goodwill,” Ruby Gleam noted, taking a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ll have to eat lunch after that.”

Aeon cleared his throat from the front desk. “Hopefully that won’t be our only customer of the day, though I don’t know if many other ponies will feel like coming to the spa after… yesterday’s events. In any case, go prepare the rooms for our next guest. I’ll stay on lookout here.”

But no other ponies did show up. Their day passed by slowly, and Golden Lily was on the verge of tearing her mane out with boredom by the time it came to close up shop for the day.

“About time,” Lily grumbled as they flipped the ‘open’ sign around to ‘closed’ and locked up the front doors. “I’m starving. Can’t wait to get me some dinner.”

“We’re always hungry,” Aeon said plainly, locking up his ledger in the desk and picking up the box with the day’s earnings, ready to take it downstairs. “But you’re right, I could do with something to eat too. Come on.”

Switching off the lights in the lobby, Golden Lily and Aeon trotted down into the depths of the Metamorphosis side by side. All the staff would be meeting in the dining room before being released for the night to do what they wanted to do. It was a spacious room dominated by a table and chairs, lit with more flameless lanterns.

Silent Moon was already seated at the dark, polished oak table, drumming her hooves on the tabletop. She had been working behind the scenes today, washing towels and robes, as well as ministering to a member of the staff who hadn’t been so lucky during the changeling invasion. Moon watched as Lily and Aeon entered and took their seats.

“Busy day?” Silent Moon asked.

Golden Lily took off her headband and placed it on the table. “Nah, not really. We only got one customer. Pretty Flanks, you remember her?”

“Oh, yeah. Purple coat, turquoise mane. Learn anything useful?”

“Oh, lots!” Aeon smirked. “It’ll make a fine addition to all the rest of her file.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Ruby Gleam’s voice came as she entered, tugging off her apron and hairband. “Her little tryst with her daughter’s piano teacher is positively scandalous. I’d wager she would do anything to keep it quiet.” She plopped down in her seat and grinned mischievously. “And the teacher. After all, he’s married too!”

There was a ripple of laughter around the table.

“The things these ponies do for love...” Silent Moon smiled and brushed a hoof through her mane.

“And the things we do for it,” Snowy Skies ambled into the room, pushing a trolley with a large steaming pot on top of it. "Dinner’s ready, by the way. Well, the first part of dinner, anyway.”

“Ooh, is that snapper?”

“And trout!” Snowy chirped, getting out bowls from underneath the trolley. “I know it’s not easy to get fish in Canterlot, but I thought everypony...” She winked. “Would like something hearty to pick ourselves up from yesterday’s… mishap.”

Ruby made a weird sound in her throat. “Mishap is an understatement.”

Golden Lily licked her muzzle hungrily. “I can’t wait to dig in! Who are we missing?”

At this, the doors to the dining room swung open, revealing a white unicorn with a blue and green mane.

All chatter ceased immediately.

“Mistress Spirit Wave,” Aeon greeted, standing up. Everypony else who was still seated followed suit.

“Oh, sit back down,” Spirit Wave said, waving her hoof at them. “Snowy has worked very hard on this meal and I’m sure we’d all love to taste; it smells lovely, by the way,” She added. Snowy Skies’ cheeks turned slightly red at the compliment.

“Now, why don’t we just all be ourselves for this meal? Pony teeth aren’t exactly suited to eating meat, as we all know.”

“Hear, hear!” Golden Lily cheered, just before she was engulfed in a flurry of green fire.

One by one, all around the table columns of emerald flame shot up around each pony, hiding them for a second. When the flames died down, the table was surrounded by a pack of very different looking creatures. Blackened, vaguely equine creatures with holes in their legs and ragged, less refined manes that matched their previous forms. Only the owner of the spa, Spirit Wave, remained the same as she always had been.

Spirit Wave looked around the table, beholding the grinning changelings. Unlike the drones that had been seen during the invasion yesterday, these changelings were different. Whereas the drones had possessed solid blue eyes and fin-like manes that were black like the rest of their bodies, the changelings gathered around the dinner table had almost-pony like eyes, like Queen Chrysalis, slits for pupils and irises that matched their manes. They each stood about half a head taller than the average pony, and every one of them had been chosen from hundreds of others for this position. In fact, their existence was not a widely known fact, not even among Queen Chrysalis’s changeling swarm.

There were six of them in total. Each had been specifically hoof-picked many years ago and blessed by ancient changeling magic to elevate and empower them, as well as to give them greater independent thought processes. Each had been infinitely grateful and pleased to have been chosen, and by royalty, no less! They now had but one duty: to serve the crown and those who were affiliated with it. Altogether it was not too different from what they had been doing before being chosen, but with this new position came more clandestine, secret missions. But more on that later.

The five changelings that had revealed themselves set about ladling out hearty portions of the fish stew into bowls, chatting animatedly as they did so about the day’s events and the failed invasion that had taken place only the day before.

Spirit Wave approached the pot of stew. “I’ll take one to Nahara, then I’ll join you,” she said.

The changeling who had been Snowy Skies nodded and filled up a bowl for Spirit, who picked it up in her green magical field and left the dining room.

The last member of the group of infiltrators, Nahara, had been unable to join them that night because of injuries she had incurred during the botched invasion. As the group’s eye in the castle, she had fled the scene when Chrysalis had revealed her true form and had galloped down to the spa to warn everyone else that the plan had gone awry. She had almost made it, broadcasting a telepathic alarm to her fellow infiltrators on the way back. However, with all the chaos that had ensued when the changeling drones had hit the scene, Nahara had been delayed, and had only just made it into the Metamorphosis when the love wave had hit, throwing the poor thing into a glass display.

Not that the rest of them hadn’t been literally thrown for a loop when Chrysalis had been removed. But thanks to Nahara’s early warning, the rest of them had been able to don their armor in time and had not been as badly hurt from being thrown into walls or ceilings.

“Chrysalis… you have a lot to answer for…” Spirit Wave muttered as she came to the end of a hallway and opened the door a crack, peeping inside. The light was still on. Good.

“I’ve brought some dinner,” Spirit Wave said, quietly entering the room. It was wallpapered in beige in contrast to the black marble that made up the majority of the building, with three beds and a shelf full of medical supplies, some of pony origin and some of more foreign make.

Lying in the closest of the beds was another changeling, this one with a reddish-purple mane, matching eyes, and strips of bandages tied around her midsection.

“How are you feeling?” Spirit set the bowl of stew down next to the bed and crouched down to examine the changeling’s injuries.

The injured changeling did not reply. She could not, for among her wounds was a missing tongue. However, this had not been inflicted during the previous day’s events. Nahara had been missing her tongue since many years ago, during a skirmish with some griffons. However, that only made her more perfect for her job as a spy in the castle.

“I brought you some of Mava’s fish stew,” Spirit said, levitating the bowl over to Nahara. The changeling took the bowl, and after nodding her thanks, began to eat.

“Do you need me to change your bandages?” Spirit Wave asked gently. Nahara shook her head.

The two of them sat there in silence for a while, the only sound being the bowl of stew being devoured.

Spirit Wave sat on one of the other beds, looking down at her hooves. A despondent look graced her face, and she only looked up once she heard the bowl being set aside.

“I’ll take this back outside,” Spirit said as she picked up the now empty bowl. She turned to leave.

“Mistress.”

Spirit Wave turned around. Lying on the bed now was an off-white unicorn with a reddish-purple mane, named Dahlia, who worked in Canterlot Castle as a maid.

“You shouldn’t change forms now, not when you’re still hurt,” Spirit Wave admonished. “Save your strength for recovering.”

“I have strength enough to heal,” Dahlia replied. “I only wanted to ask, are you alright, mistress?”

“What? Of course I am alright. Your warning saved us all.”

“That is not what I am asking.”

Spirit Wave didn’t answer immediately.

“I’ll be fine,” the spa owner said at last. “Now, rest and recover. We need you back in the castle as soon as possible. This whole mess isn’t over yet.”

Dahlia bowed her head respectfully. “As you command, mistress.”

Spirit Wave left the room and trotted back to the dining room. The rest of the changelings were having a good time chowing down on that delicious stew, but in the end, food for them was but a hobby. It served them little sustenance, not like love. Love was what fueled them, what kept them going, what staved off their hunger. Food did not fill the void for them, but it still tasted good, provided they had enough love stored up to properly digest it.

Pouring a bowl for herself, Spirit Wave set it down on the table before taking a few hoofsteps back. All eyes were on her as she disappeared in a flash of green fire.

What stood there now was something of an oddity. A changeling as tall as Princess Luna, almost a smaller scale version of Queen Chrysalis. When the green fire washed over her head, it uncovered an intelligent, if tired-looking face crowned with a filmy, purple mane done up in a practical ponytail, with one wayward lock hanging over the side of her muzzle, in the style of the changeling queen’s.

“Welcome back, princess,” the other changelings murmured, bowing their heads.

The changeling princess eyed them all. They were her most loyal soldiers, and it brought a small spark of pride to her heart to see them all assembled before her, waiting for her orders. She picked up her spoon and dipped it into the stew.

After a few mouthfuls, she looked back up. The rest of them were done eating, so there was no point detaining them any longer.

“If you are finished, you may go have the rest of your dinner,” she said in a buzzing, double toned voice that reverberated around the room before getting back to her stew.

The infiltrators bowed to her, then one by one they left the room, until only the changeling who had been Aeon was left. He stood there in silence.

The princess noticed him and put down her spoon.

“I will take care of Nahara for you, Azal. I will not have you starve because you feel like you need to stay for her.”

Azal seemed to hesitate, but then bowed his head.

“You are most kind, Princess Psithyra.”

And he, too, left the room.

“No, not kind,” Psithyra said to herself once she was alone. “I simply do not want you to suffer from my sister’s actions.”

Chapter 3 - To Lead and Mislead

Several generations ago, the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlour had been bought by Spirit Wave’s grandmother, Spirit Wisp. It was an immediate success, with word spreading quickly across Canterlot about how luxurious and relaxing a session there was. The structure had been completely overhauled from an auditorium to a station of pure indulgence, and run by some of the nicest ponies in the city, if not all of Equestria.

Or so the public was led to believe.

In reality, the building had been well on its way to becoming a social hub, when the owner had retired, leaving everything to his son. He had run the auditorium well enough, until he had decided to get into gambling. Of course, there were no casinos in Canterlot, but after receiving a VIP pass to Las Pegasus, the new owner of the building that would become the Metamorphosis had quickly sunk into a rut of loss after loss, punctuated by the occasional victory at the card tables. Month by month, year by year, he frittered away his savings and eventually fell into debt and the once-proud auditorium descended into a state of disrepair as he could no longer afford to pay for its upkeep.

It was at this point in time, that when this pony was in a hole that he had dug with no way out, somepony offered him some help. A mare called Spirit Wisp had approached the young noble and offered to buy the auditorium off his hooves for a high price. Ecstatic at the prospect of getting out of his gambling debts, the son had taken the deal without a second thought.

And so the first stage of Princess Psithyra’s plan had been set into motion. Ever since the fateful siege on Trot and the changelings’ defeat at the hooves of Princess Celestia, Queen Chrysalis had been fixated on one thing only: the city of Canterlot.

And at the time, the queen’s younger sister had been happy to scout out Canterlot. Getting in had been foal’s play, and with her trusted six infiltrators at her side, creating new identities was all too simple.

Getting the funds to buy the Metamorphosis had been slightly more difficult. They had stayed in the caves beneath Canterlot at the start, but using their changeling magic, they had started an underground relic-selling business, with various infiltrators morphing into rare collectors items that mysteriously ‘vanished’ a few weeks after they had been purchased by somepony. It had only been too easy to send the previous owner of the building a VIP pass to Las Pegasus, along with a generous amount of free chips to start off with, and everything had gone like clockwork from there.

The Metamorphosis had one other advantage that only a few other buildings in Canterlot had. It was built on top of an old mine shaft to the crystal caves below. It had taken almost a month of discreet digging and chipping away at the foundations in the basement, but once it was clear, they had a direct passage to the caverns, as either a place to keep things in, or a place to run and hide in, should things go wrong. The entrance was hidden behind a shelf and had a secret switch to open it.

And now it was theirs. A veritable changeling lair right in the heart of Canterlot, under the collective noses of Princesses Celestia and Luna. And that was only the beginning.

The idea to set up a spa had been agreed on by all seven of them. Not only would pampering the nobles of Canterlot net them a generous amount of positive energy, but it also paved the way for them to exploit Canterlot’s weak point. Its citizens.

Sharing most of the abilities and powers of her older sister, Princess Psithyra made excellent use of her skill with the hypnosis spell to subdue ponies who had come to the spa and make them spill their secrets. Of course, it had not always gone as smoothly as it had now. Before, when they had first begun extracting the secrets from the ponies, it had been more of a strain on the princess and her infiltrators, as they had to use spells to ensure the ponies being interrogated remained comatose and yet coherent enough to speak and remember. It was a delicate balance of hanging a pony’s consciousness in limbo and sometimes they had nodded off into a slumber that only cold water could rouse them from, and in other cases they had woken up, only to be assured by the staff present that it was all a nightmare.

After only a couple of months into this routine, they had accumulated a sizeable stash of secrets, blackmail, and tidbits that could, under the right circumstances, be used to ruin the pony they were attached to. But it wasn’t enough. And that was when Nahara had discovered something while working in the castle. As the only changeling who wasn’t regularly working at the spa, she had access to the royal library, and she managed to use her connections and her persona’s good looks to secure a position in said library. It was there that she uncovered an old book of alchemical recipes that had been used in Equestria’s old days. The ingredients were quite easy to come by, and after a few alterations to the formula, the Metamorphosis’ renowned ‘exotic eastern aromatherapy’ was born.

The sticks of incense served not only to cloud a pony’s mind and render them completely open to the princess’s hypnosis spell, it also relaxed the muscles and mind, revitalizing and refreshing anypony that was exposed to it. Changelings, being immune to toxins, were completely unaffected by the fumes.

And so the spa worked itself into a comfortable routine. Anypony who came to visit was treated to a five-star session of total relaxation, ending with an incense-augmented massage. The stash of secrets and scandals grew and grew, until the seven changelings were sitting on a veritable goldmine of data on just about anypony who was anypony in Canterlot, short of the diarchs of the city.

Princess Psithyra had put Azal, whose persona was Aeon and the most senior of her infiltrators, in charge of managing all the information that they gathered. He was meticulous, as well as the fastest writer among the six infiltrators. Down in the crystal caverns, several huge filing cabinets had been sequestered, with all of the dirt on Canterlot’s citizens sorted out by date, name, and cutie-mark. It was a rather dangerous sort of thing to keep, the changeling princess had reflected more than once. In fact, she had heard about a similar incident that had happened in the faraway town of Ponyville, where some school-aged fillies had taken to spreading secrets and lies about the townsfolk. The fallout from that incident had almost torn the town apart, and Psithyra had marveled at how quickly things had spiralled out of control. If three little fillies could bring a whole town to its knees with just some well-placed gossip, then imagine what would happen should all her collected information see the light of day! Canterlot would never recover from such a blow, and there would be nothing anycreature could do to fix it. It made Psithyra feel a little gooey inside with sinister glee when she pondered how much damage it would do.

And as the changeling princess settled down in her bed for the night, she wondered if Chrysalis had received her letter yet. She had yet to get a concrete report on what had happened up there in the castle, like most of the ponies of Canterlot. The spell she used to send the letter should have deposited it into her sister’s hooves by now.

Oh well. Tomorrow the spa would open again, and more ponies would come to be pampered by her infiltrators’ gentle hooves. Psithyra pulled the sheets over herself and went to sleep.

The next morning, Princess Psithyra opened her eyes slowly, finding that there was something on her face. It was a rolled up sheet of parchment.

“About time,” she said to herself, sitting up and picking up the letter in her magical field. A quick glance at the clock on her wall told her that she had just a little over half an hour to spare before she was due to get up, so she carefully unrolled the parchment and looked at the contents. It was short and to the point.

What do you mean, what happened to the plan? Where were you when I needed you? I put you in charge of keeping watch on the love princess, and you failed. If you had been here to watch the ponies, I might yet have won. Do not think to place the blame on me.

Psithyra’s expression soured as she scanned the letter. She could feel a small ember of anger flicker into existence in her belly, mixing with the slow burn of hunger. She threw the letter aside into the wall and hopped out of bed, breathing heavily.

“My fault, is it?” she said, stepping into the bathroom and activating the flameless lantern in the ceiling. “Of all the- Mmph!” Psithyra stopped herself before anything explicit left her lips. She was clearly too sleep-addled to think on this properly right now. Psithyra put the letter out of mind at least until she had eaten breakfast.

The changeling princess turned on the shower and stepped under it, letting the hot water wash over her face and body. After a few minutes of this, she left the shower and used a drying spell to get rid of all the water. As she reentered the room, her eyes fell upon her damaged armor.

“Can’t leave that lying around, now can I?”

Picking up the armor in her magical field, Princess Psithyra made her way to a room that was fairly nondescript. Extra towels lay neatly folded on shelves, and there were bottles of massage oil and shampoo decorating the cabinets. There were flameless lanterns here too, but they were rarely used.

The princess reached out and pulled on one of the lanterns with her hooves, something which she would normally not have done with a regular one, as the lanterns could cause serious burns if they were breached. In the corner, one of the towel shelves swung open, revealing a yawning hole in the wall that were followed by some stairs. Armor still in tow, she trotted down the steps and shut the door behind her.

Changelings had natural dark vision, but any pony who might have come this way would not have been able to navigate the pitfalls and forks in the road that Psithyra was now traveling. Before long, she came out into a sizeable cavern, glittering with crystal formations. This was the heart of her little operation: she could see the filing cabinets tucked away inside and alcove, and several large wooden crates and other paraphernalia lying about.

The princess opened one of the crates and looked inside. There were a pair of sheathed swords inside, her own. Forged from pure orichalcum, these blades never lost their edge and were able to cut through most magical obstacles. She had considered using them to slice through Shining Armor’s protection spell, but that would have given her away, and was not part of the plan.

A nerve twitched in the princess’s head. The plan.

Why, of all the thrice accursed times to deviate from a plan, why had her queen chosen now? She would not have minded nearly as much were it some meager village that they were trying to take, but this was Canterlot. The capital of Equestria! The jewel in the nation’s crown! If they had just followed the plan, all would have been theirs.

Annoyed, Psithyra dropped the armor unceremoniously into the crate and replaced the lid. Then she buzzed her wings into motion and flew back up the passageway. Unburdened by her armor, the trip back was quick, though she remained fuming at how everything had gone wrong. The princess re-emerged in the storeroom and closed the secret passage, making sure to pile some laundry baskets on the shelf to disguise it further.

Next, she had to get into character for opening the spa, as she did every day. Closing her eyes, Psithyra visualized the pony she wanted to be, and in a flash of green fire, Spirit Wave replaced the princess’s hole-riddled form. She had also played Spirit Wisp, and Glow Shade, Spirit Wave’s grandmother and mother, respectively. Passing down the spa from mother to daughter was a necessity if ponies were to not notice her eternal lifespan.

It was time to start the day. Monday was always a slow day, as not many ponies felt like relaxing only to lose the effects come Tuesday, but the spa would be open nonetheless. Maybe they would attract at least one customer, and that would make it all worth it.

Spirit Wave levitated her apron and headband over, but did not put them on, instead draping them over a chair and going to the kitchen.

Aeon was already inside, sitting at the table with a mug of coffee and a newspaper. He saw Spirit Wave enter and nodded.

“Good morning, mistress,” he said respectfully.

“Good morning, Aeon,” the spa owner replied. “How was dinner?”

“Not all that good, to be honest,” the white unicorn folded up his newspaper and deposited it on the tabletop. “Ponies are still nervous about the invasion.”

“I can imagine,” Spirit Wave trotted to the pantry and took out a box of oat cakes. “I got a reply from the queen, by the way.”

“Oh? What did she say?”

The spa owner didn’t reply, instead opting to take a dejected bite from her breakfast. Levitating a mug over, she put in a teabag and poured in some hot water.

“That bad?” Aeon said sympathetically.

“You know how she is,” Spirit Wave said in a deadpan voice. “It’s never her fault. Even when it is.”

Aeon sighed. “You cannot expect the queen to freely admit her faults,” he said staunchly. “She is supposed to be the best of us.”

Spirit Wave grunted and continued to eat her oat cake. “Even so…”

She finished her breakfast in a brooding silence. When she finished, Spirit Wave levitated her dishes to the sink and stood up.

“I’m going for a walk. Just around the district to gauge the general mood.”

Aeon wasn’t fazed at all. “Of course. I will get the others up and see to Nahara.”

Leaving her trusted lieutenant behind to see to the day’s preparations, Spirit Wave trotted out the front doors of the spa and began her circuit around the district. At a quick canter, she would be able to finish her stroll in about twenty minutes.

The sun was still hanging low in the sky, having only risen about an hour ago. Ponies were trotting around, hurrying to their respective workplaces as the day dawned. Spirit Wave nodded good morning to various ponies as she passed them, before turning the corner and running right into something hard and metallic.

“Oh, sorry about that, Miss,” a stallion’s voice said.

Spirit Wave looked up into the concerned, blue eyes of a Canterlot castle guard. He was clad in the trademark golden armor that all castle guards wore, though he wasn’t wearing his helmet. He looked relatively young, and there was a fresh-faced gleam in his eyes.

The guard pulled Spirit Wave back up onto her hooves. The spa owner eyed him carefully. There was another guard behind him, currently speaking to another pony while holding up a sheet of paper that he was reading from.

“Don’t worry about it,” Spirit said to the guard. “I should have been looking where I was going.”

The guard smiled and seemed about to turn away when his face changed.

“I don’t want to keep you here, but my partner and I have been tasked with asking around this district about Princess Cadance.”

Spirit Wave leaned back a smidgen. So they weren’t just going to leave it alone. “You mean the newly wed Princess Cadance?” she asked with polite curiosity.

“The very same,” the guard nodded. “Do you live around here?”

“I own the spa over there,” Spirit Wave pointed at the dome of the Metamorphosis. “It’s also my home.”

“Splendid, splendid,” the guard said. “We have reason to believe that Princess Cadance was swapped with the changeling queen while out shopping. Her retainers said that she liked to frequent this district. So I just wanted to ask, did you see anything suspicious around here in the past week or so?”

Inside, Psithyra cringed. The guard spoke with some semblance of truth. Princess Cadance had frequented this district. In fact, on the morning of her abduction, she had been anonymously gifted with a voucher entitling her to a free spa session and makeover at the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlor.

Cadance had been treated to the aromatherapy incense, and once she had fallen unconscious, Chrysalis had taken her shape and left the spa with nopony any the wiser. The real Cadance had been spirited down through the secret passage to the caves below and imprisoned.

Spirit Wave put a hoof to her chin and pretended to think. “I do recall seeing some strange ponies lurking around near the far end of the district. I saw them while I was out to lunch,” she lied.

“Is that so?” the guard said, visibly excited. He leaned closer. “What made them stand out to you?”

“Well, I have been living in Canterlot for many years now,” Spirit Wave continued. “So I know just about everypony who is anypony. And I had never seen these ones before. They were lurking around across the street from Zesty Gourmand’s.”

“Excellent, excellent…” the guard nodded so eagerly that had he been wearing his helm, it might have fallen off. “We’ll go investigate immediately,” the guard thanked Spirit Wave for her time, then galloped after his partner, braying, “Sir! Sir! I think we’ve got something!”

“Glad to be of help,” Spirit Wave murmured, then continued on her walk.

She saw two more groups of guards, all of them questioning commuting ponies about Princess Cadance, she guessed, but made it around and back to the spa with nary a bit of trouble.

Slipping back inside, Aeon was there to greet his boss as she flipped the ‘closed’ sign to say ‘open’.

“Did you have a good walk, mistress?” Aeon asked, straightening his bow tie.

“There are guards sniffing about, looking into Princess Cadance’s abduction,” Spirit Wave informed Aeon. The edge of his mouth twitched, but otherwise the white unicorn did not give away anything. “It’s a good thing the princess’s memories were tampered with. Remind me to thank Hafet for doing that.”

“Certainly. You should go and get changed, mistress. Everyone else is up and ready, though I don’t really anticipate a lot of guests today.”

As Spirit Wave cantered to the back room to get her apron and headband, the front doors were pushed open by another pony.

“Welcome to the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlor,” Aeon said, turning to the newcomer from behind his desk. “How may I help you?”

“Oh, I’m just here for a full work-over,” the white unicorn said, taking off her hat and coat before handing them over to Aeon with magic. “Are you very busy today?”

“Oh, not at all,” Aeon inclined his head “You’re the first customer of the day, so we can begin immediately. May I have your name, please? For my ledger, you understand.”

The customer fluffed her deep purple mane and gave Aeon a glittering smile.

“Certainly. My name is Rarity, darling.”

Chapter 4 - Rarity's Spa Confession

“Excellent,” Aeon said amicably, scribbling down Rarity’s name in his ledger. “I don’t recall seeing you here before, Miss Rarity. Is this your first time at the Metamorphosis?”

“Oh, yes,” Rarity replied. Aeon levitated a fluffy white robe from behind the counter and deftly swathed Rarity in it. “I just so happened to be in Canterlot for the royal wedding, and I couldn’t leave without a visit to one of the most renowned spas in the city. Celestia knows I need it after what happened up in the palace.”

“Oh, you mean the changeling invasion,” Aeon said as he ushered Rarity further into the building. “Yes, I can imagine that was a stressful event for quite a lot of ponies. Were you directly involved, Miss Rarity?”

Rarity examined one of the paintings on the hallway wall as she passed it, nodding her approval. “You could say that. We tried to repel the changelings from the palace, but it was ultimately Princess Cadance and Shining Armor who won the day.”

“Is that so?” Aeon nodded his acknowledgement. “We’ll start off with good, stress-relieving bath in our onsen, followed with a massage and a mane session. And then a hooficure.”

“Oh, that sounds divine,” Rarity exhaled. “Lead the way, good sir.”

The baths were already piping hot when Aeon and Rarity entered, allowing a blast of scented steam to blow out into the hall.

“In you go, Miss Rarity,” Aeon bowed and gestured with his hoof. “Our gentle and talented staff are eager to meet you,” Then through the steaming door, he called, “There’s one Miss Rarity here to see you!”

Rarity entered the onsen room, where Golden Lily and Ruby Gleam stood waiting, dressed in their spa uniforms.

“Welcome, Miss Rarity. We’ve got the bath nice and heated, so if you’ll just allow me…”

Golden Lily lit up her horn and slipped the robe off Rarity’s body, hanging it neatly on a nearby stand. “Over this way, Miss Rarity.”

Rarity mounted the squat stairs and stepped into the hot bath. She let out small murmurs of pleasure as the heated water engulfed her body. “Ah, yes… this is so soothing…”

Ruby Gleam flitted around the room, dimming the lights and using a match to light some incense sticks. The room soon filled with a sweet aroma. At the same time, Golden Lily began to gently scrub Rarity’s coat, using a rose-scented body wash and a fresh loofah. A fine lather of bubbles formed in the bath, and Rarity closed her eyes, losing herself to the comforts of the bath.

Ruby Gleam watched until Rarity’s eyelids began to droop, then she quietly left the room, heading for the massage room where Harpsy Chord was tuning her instrument.

“There’s a new client here today,” Ruby announced. “Her name is Rarity.”

The harp player looked up from her work. “Is that so? I wonder…”

“Lily’s giving her a bath right now, but she’ll be along here soon,” Ruby Gleam continued. “Apparently she was directly involved in the invasion.”

“I see,” Harpsy Chord replied. “We will soon find out for ourselves, won’t we? Prepare the incense, Ruby. We can’t give our guest anything but the best treatment.”

Ruby Gleam nodded and left the massage room, quickly returning with over a dozen sticks of incense, which she deposited neatly into holders around the perimeter of the room. In the meantime, Harpsy Chord strummed her harp gently, as she so often did as a warm up before the client actually arrived.

The walls of black marble reflected watery facsimiles of the harp player all around, punctuated by the pale flameless lanterns fixed at regular intervals along the surface. Harpsy Chord sat there and allowed her mind to wander while her hooves played across the strings of her instrument.

She had been in close contact with the changeling queen while she had been masquerading as the love princess. The name Rarity rang a bell; she had been among the group of ponies summoned from Ponyville to help with the wedding, if she remembered correctly. This was most likely the same Rarity who was renowned across Equestria for helping to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord. So far, things were matching up well to her base knowledge.

Then there was also the letter. Just thinking about it made the pony’s eyes narrow, but she mastered herself and adopted the same, calm stance that she usually had while working at the spa. It wouldn’t do to think about replying to her sister’s vitriol when she was on the job. So she shelved that for later, once they closed up shop for the day.

Harpsy Chord must have been lost in her own thoughts for longer than she had expected, for not long after she returned to the waking world, the door to the massage room was pushed open.

Golden Lily and Rarity entered, the latter looking quite pleased and drowsy.

“Oh, my,” Rarity’s eyes widened as she entered the space. “You have a harp player?”

“We do,” Ruby Gleam nodded, gesturing the the massage table and the myriad of oils and lotions that were set beside it.

“She’ll be playing a soothing tune for you as you have your massage,” Golden Lily giggled. “It’ll be an experience you won’t have anywhere else!”

As Rarity laid down on the massage table, Harpsy Chord began her recital, playing a slow, meandering tune on her instrument while Golden Lily lit the incense. Ruby Gleam fluttered above Rarity’s prone body, beginning to gently knead and rub at the white unicorn’s back.

“Mmmm…” Rarity sighed contentedly.

Harpsy Chord’s hooves plucked and strummed at the strings of her harp while Ruby Gleam saw to Rarity’s massage. Golden Lily levitated a metal file out and began to gently work it over their client’s horn. Such ministrations were said to be very pleasurable for unicorns, as it stimulated the nerves that were inside the horn, not that Golden Lily had ever experienced it before.

Scraaape. Scraaape.

Soon, Rarity’s mumbles grew more and more incoherent and her eyelids fell lower and lower, until she was snoozing peacefully away on the massage table.

Golden Lily crept up to Rarity’s face, prodding it gently with her hoof.

“Miss Rarity?” Lily called softly. “Are you awake?”

There was no reply from the slumbering unicorn.

“Miss Rarity?”

No response.

Golden Lily smirked. “I’ll go and get Aeon.”

“No need,” Aeon’s voice came from the door. “I'm already here. Moon is watching the front desk.”

Aeon trotted inside, passing Golden Lily on her way to the harp The unicorn had his notebook and pen ready and he took up his position next to the massage table so that he could clearly hear everything that their client was about to tell them.

“Now…” Harpsy Chord hissed as she strode down to Rarity’s level, her eyes glowing green. She lifted Rarity’s eyelids and activated her hypnotic gaze. “Are you a citizen of Canterlot?” The harp player asked Rarity.

“Mmm… no,” Rarity’s mouth replied. “I am simply here as a guest of the newly married couple. I am from Ponyville.”

“I see,” Harpsy Chord nodded slowly. “And what was your involvement with the royal wedding and in the changeling invasion?”

“That’s a bit of a long story,” Rarity answered, her voice slightly shaky from the massage she was receiving. “You see, I was requested by Princess Cadance to design her wedding dress, as well as to be one of the guests of honor at the wedding itself.”

Harpsy Chord nodded, even though Rarity could not see her. “So that means you were in the palace when the invasion began?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what happened in the palace. In detail.”

“Of course…”

Rarity went on to explain the preparations they had been making to ensure a successful wedding. That bit didn’t sound any bit important to any of them, but then she started talking about her friend Twilight Sparkle’s suspicions of Princess Cadance, who at that time, was still the changeling queen in disguise.

“The queen can’t even act nice when in disguise?” Ruby Gleam scoffed from above Rarity. “And she’s supposed to be the best of us? Ha.”

“So right, Ruby…” Lily suppressed a laugh with a hoof before returning her attention to playing the harp.

Harpsy nodded again. And to think Chrysalis was the one who taught them how to blend in before she had even picked it up as a specialty.

Aeon sat by without comment, writing down every word that left Rarity’s mouth with his pen. After that, the pony had gone on to wail about how if they had taken heed to Twilight’s words, then perhaps they could’ve stopped the invasion before it even happened.

“And how, pray tell, did Princess Cadance even escape her confines?” Harpsy Chord asked, her eyes still burning green. “Do you know?”

Rarity mumbled something unintelligible, then smiled. “Twilight said the changeling queen had sent her down into the mines where the princess was being held…”

There was a small expression of frustration from Ruby Gleam that she covered up with a cough.

Aeon looked up for a moment, then shook his head and went back to writing.

“Twilight tells me that she used her magic to clear a way out of the mines,” Rarity droned on. “They were able to escape in time to expose the changeling queen before the wedding could conclude.”

“And what happened after that?” Harpsy pushed the spell further. “Tell me.”

The tale continued about how Rarity and her friends had fled the wedding hall to retrieve the Elements of Harmony to fight off the invading changeling horde, but were overcome before they could reach them. They had been taken back to the throne room after that.

“And then the changeling queen began to sing,” Rarity recalled. “In fact, she stayed at the balcony for long enough for Princess Cadance to bring Shining Armor back to his senses and use the power of love to repel all the changelings.”

“Almost all of them,” Golden Lily remarked quietly.

“So the changeling queen left her prisoners unguarded, and revealed herself before the reception was over?”

“Yes,” Rarity confirmed. “That is what happened.”

“Because of course she reveals herself before the reception is over,” Harpsy Chord muttered through clenched teeth. “Of course it’s too much to ask her to stick to the plan. Of all the…” The harp player caught herself and returned her attention to Rarity.

“Is there anything else you have not told me about the wedding?”

“Mmm, I caught the princess’ flowers.”

“I think we’ve learned all we can from this one,” Aeon jerked his head towards the spellbound Rarity.

“Yes…” Harpsy Chord put her hoof to her chin. “Very well. Aeon, you may go back to the front desk.”

The white unicorn tucked away his pen and notebook, then bowed and left the room. Golden Lily relinquished the harp back to Harpsy, and waited for the hypnosis spell to fade while Ruby Gleam went to snuff out the incense.

“Miss Rarity?” Golden Lily asked, putting her hoof onto Rarity’s splayed foreleg. “Are you awake?”

Rarity snorted in a most unladylike fashion, then opened her eyes.

“Oooohh…” She said with a stretch. “I feel… thoroughly worked over. It’s quite a remarkable feeling!”

“We didn’t think our massage would put you to sleep,” Ruby Gleam said. Her face was arranged in a sort of apologetic grin.

“Well, you’re a credit to your work if you can relax a pony so much that they nod off,” Rarity yawned and smacked her lips.

“We have a mane session left, and then a hooficure,” Golden Lily chirped. “And after that, would you like to stay for a cocktail, complimentary of the Metamorphosis?”

“That sounds lovely, darling,” Rarity pried herself off the massage table, but her limbs and body were too limp to do it. Golden Lily wrapped Rarity in her magical field and lifted her up, then deposited her onto the floor.

“Thank you,” Rarity looked as though she were still unsteady, but was able to follow Ruby Gleam out of the room, followed by Golden Lily, leaving Harpsy Chord alone in the massage room.

About two hours later, Aeon, now back at his spot at the front desk, waved goodbye to Rarity.

“Thank you very much for coming!” he said with a bow of his head. “We hope you’ll stop by again.”

Aeon kept a neutral half-smile on his face as he watched Rarity go, but inside, he was already readying himself for the next customer. He hoped that there would be more; Rarity’s happiness and satisfaction had filled him up somewhat, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough.

He sat there for a good three hours, with nopony else coming in. Snowy Skies came out around at about one o’clock with a sandwich and a smoothie, which Aeon ate at his desk. As he consumed his lunch, he took out his notebook and read over Rarity’s account once again.

“The princess is not going to be happy about this…” Aeon said through a mouthful of rye and lettuce. “Not at all…” While he was no master strategist like the mistress of the house, he knew enough to know that Chrysalis had messed up phenomenally.

The bell at the front door tinkled, making Aeon look up from his notes. It was an cream-colored stallion in a suit, followed by a sprightly-looking pink mare with a flaxen mane. The two unicorns seemed to be deep in discussion.

“...And I said, if you can’t make it, just come to the next meeting,” the mare was saying. “So we’ll need to buy more doilies for that.”

“Yes, dear,” the stallion sighed. He was clearly exasperated, and Aeon didn’t need to use his changeling senses to tell he was both annoyed and exhausted.

Aeon waited for the two ponies to stop talking. The stallion seemed resigned to just saying ‘yes’, and ‘that’s right’ to the mare’s constant stream of dialogue. Finally, the mare stopped to breathe.

“Welcome to the Metamorphosis!” Aeon interjected. “My name is Aeon. How may I help you?”

“Oh, yes!” the mare squealed. “I’m here to get ready for my weekly book club meeting, and I really wanted to get a hooficure and a massage to make myself look all pretty for the gals, you know?”

“One hooficure and full-body massage,” Aeon noted down in his ledger. “May I have your name?”

“Sunshine Sprinkles!” She supplied brightly. “And this is my husband, Jackpot Justice.”

“Very good,” Aeon said. Then he turned to the Jackpot Justice. “And for you, good sir?”

“Oh, I’m only here to give my wife some company,” Jackpot said in a beleaguered tone. He saw the chairs that were arranged in the lobby and slunk over to them. “I’ll just wait for Sunshine to be done.”

“I see. All right.”

Aeon gave Sunshine Sprinkles a fluffy white robe and led her into the spa proper, then came back out to his spot at the front desk.

Jackpot Justice and Aeon sat there in silence for a couple of minutes, the quiet only interrupted by the seated stallion’s breathing.

Finally, Aeon decided to try conversation.

“Busy day?”

Jackpot nodded wearily. “I’ve been walked all over Canterlot, looking at tea sets and bookmarks and quills with my wife.”

“Ah, yes. She mentioned a book club.”

“Sunshine holds those every week at our home,” Jackpot sighed. “She invites all her friends and they sit there for hours, discussing the latest C.W. Step book.”

“The famous romance novelist,” Aeon nodded sagely. “I’m familiar.”

“I love my wife, but sometimes it’s too much for me to take,” Jackpot Justice shuddered. “So much pink, and frills, and lace, and that incessant giggling. I usually go to the bar when the book club is on, but lately my wife has been trying to include me in their meetings…” The stallion ran a hoof down his face. “I know she means well, but…” he ended the sentence with a groan. “Ugh. I wish I had time for a drink.”

Aeon smiled. “As it so happens, we have quite a well-stocked cocktail bar in the next room. Would you like to relax in there instead of here?”

“Cocktails, you say?” That caught the stallion’s attention. “That sounds splendid.”

“I’ll just lead you in. I can’t stay because I’m watching the front of house, but Snowy Skies will be more than happy to serve you.”

The cocktail bar was through a short hallway from the lobby, and it was one of the more opulently furnished rooms in the spa. The walls were hung with deep red damask, and there were several booths and tables that were trimmed in red and gold. At the far end stood the bar, with dozens of brightly colored bottles and decanters arranged on the shelf behind. Scores of crystal glasses were stacked on the side, glittering in the light of the flameless lanterns that illuminated the space.

An off-white pegasus with a blue mane was standing behind the bar, smiling at the two stallions as they neared.

“Mr. Jackpot Justice here is in need of refreshment,” Aeon told the pegasus. “I leave him in your care.”

“Yes, sir,” the pegasus nodded. Aeon then turned around crisply and went back to the lobby. “Welcome to the Metamorphosis’ cocktail bar, sir. My name is Snowy Skies. What would you like to drink?”

"Uh, can I get a Manehattan?" Jackpot ordered. "No cherry and extra ice."

"Certainly, coming right up," Snowy Skies turned to the shelf at the back of the bar and took down a couple of bottles.

As Snowy Skies poured out the whisky and other ingredients, Jackpot leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It had been such a tiresome day for him. He just didn’t know where his wife got all that energy.

The sound of ice being crushed in a martini shaker shook Jackpot out of his reverie. The pegasus bartender shook the drink around for a little more, then expertly uncapped the shaker and poured out the drink into a fluted glass.

“Your Manehatten, sir,” Snowy Skies pushed the glass at Jackpot, which would’ve slid right off the counter if Jackpot didn’t pick it up in his magical field. He lifted the glass to his mouth and took a sip.

“This is good stuff,” he said appreciatively, taking another sip. “Might I ask how a spa and massage parlor comes to have such a comprehensive selection of spirits?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s something that’s been part of the Metamorphosis since day one,” Snowy Skies said as she cleaned a glass with a cloth from her apron. “We find it helps guests unwind fully after a spa session. We offer one cocktail on the house to each customer.”

“That sounds marvelous,” Jackpot said, draining his glass and shivering a little as the liquor burned its way down his throat. “Why, I might book a session sometime myself!” He laughed.

“Very good, sir.” Snowy’s face broke into what was almost a smile, but her eyes didn’t quite manage it.

Two more customers came and went that Monday after Sunshine Sprinkles, before the Metamorphosis closed its doors for the evening.

“Good work today, everyone,” Spirit Wave said as the employees went to remove their uniforms. “I think we’re back in business. And after that fiasco with the invasion, I’m impressed we got as many customers as we did.”

“Well, you know,” Ruby Gleam said reasonably. “Perhaps they wanted to unwind after said mess of an invasion.”

“Maybe,” Snowy Skies nodded. “We made a couple of extra bits from one Jackpot Justice in the bar. He said he would recommend us to his friends.”

“Excellent!” Ruby Gleam cheered. “More food for us.”

“And more secrets to add to the stash,” Aeon smiled.

As they hung up their aprons and headbands, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat at the door. It was a white unicorn with a reddish-purple mane.

“Oh!” Spirit Wave exclaimed. “Dahlia, you’re up.”

“Yes, mistress,” Dahlia said, bowing her head. “I have recovered from my injuries and am ready to return to the castle.”

Spirit Wave walked in a quick circle around Dahlia, examining her from all angles.

“Well, it certainly seems like you have made a full recovery,” the spa owner nodded. “I originally wanted you to go back to the castle so we would have a better account of what happened up there, but thanks to our first client of the day, we know all that we need to know. But...” Spirit Wave raised her hoof. “We do still need our eye in the castle to keep watch on those living there.”

“I will be back there first thing tomorrow morning.” The unicorn nodded. “Has the queen replied as to why the plan had failed?”

“Psssshhh…” Ruby Gleam flipped herself around and planted a hoof on her snout. “The queen can go f-”

“Nothing concrete yet...” Spirit Wave said, stone faced. “But I think I have a pretty good idea as to what went pear-shaped, thanks to Miss Rarity.”

“Makes you wonder if the queen will have a different story of what happened.” Golden Lily snickered. “I wonder what she’s up to now.”

“I intend to find out,” Spirit Wave muttered. “But now that we’re closed, you all may head out and have dinner. I will stay here and pen my reply to Her Majesty.”

“Wooo, dinner!” Lily was the first changeling out the door.

The others followed, with a little less gusto. Spirit Wave was about to turn and head downstairs when she realized Aeon was still there.

“You’re not going?” Spirit asked the white unicorn.

Aeon shook his head. “I just wanted to ask if I could get anything for you while I was out.”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say no to a chicken burrito. It’s been a while since I’ve had some meat. But they don’t have those here, do they?”

“I’m afraid Canterlot only caters to the vegetarian palate,” Aeon said with a roll of his eyes. “I could purchase a bird from the pet store though, if you feel like roasting one.”

“No need to be so uncivilized, Aeon.” The Metamorphosis owner stuck out her tongue, then wandered towards the stairs. “Enjoy your dinner. I’ll be here roasting something else should you need me.”

Aeon bowed his head and followed the rest of the staff out onto the twilight streets of Canterlot.

Spirit Wave watched the door swing shut, then gave a huff of indignation and stomped back to her room.

The letter from Chrysalis was still lying on the floor where she had thrown it that morning.

Dropping her disguise, the changeling princess snatched a sheet of paper from her desk and put her pen to it.

I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the ponies who was there when you revealed yourself. I believe the plan was to wait until the ponies were all partied out before launching the invasion? And you couldn't even do that right. Why even formulate a plan at all if you won't follow it? As for your disguise, you should know better than to keep behaving the same when acting as someone else, much less the Princess of Love. As for why I wasn't there, ask yourself if anyone could have predicted your stoneheaded behavior. It's your fault the invasion failed. Not mine, yours.

Psithyra slapped down the pen on her desk and rolled up the letter. Her sister had never been good with plans, which made her wonder just why she’d come to her after all these years. She probably just needed someone to agree with her wanting to take over Canterlot, and then completely throwing their plans out the window.

“There’s a reason we have plans, Chrysalis…”

She lit her horn and sent the letter away with a small whoosh. Then Psithyra flopped down onto her bed and pulled out a romance novel, by C.W. Step, of course. It wouldn't be as tasty as fresh love, but she really didn't feel like going out tonight for dinner.

Psithyra doubted Chrysalis would reply soon, so she wasn’t going to hold her breath. Eventually she reached the end of the chapter and stuck a shred of paper in to use as a bookmark, then turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Chapter 5 - Insider Information

Early on Tuesday morning, Dahlia trotted out of the Metamorphosis, dressed in her castle maid uniform. She moved with purpose, passing other ponies on her way to Canterlot Castle. Her reddish-purple mane was done up in a bun, so as to keep it out of her eyes while she worked her shift.

Dahlia soon reached the castle gates, and turned left to use the servants’ entrance rather than the main one. There was a guard standing there, which was nothing new. Dahlia actually knew this guard, his name was Steel Wing, a pegasus.

As she approached the entrance, Steel Wing cleared his throat and stretched out one of his wings to block the door.

“I’m sorry, may I trouble you for your pass?”

“Pass?” Dahlia repeated, puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

Steel Wing’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, it’s you, Dahlia,” he lowered his wing, but kept it in front of the door. “That’s right, you were out sick yesterday. The acting Captain of the Guard has issued passes to all the castle staff, to make sure they’re not a changeling in disguise. Staff need to carry these passes on them at all times to make sure they can identify themselves.”

“I see,” Dahlia nodded. “Where can I collect my pass, then?” she asked politely.

“Just head on over to the acting captain’s office. She should have yours there.”

Steel Wing retracted his wing and motioned for the maid to enter.

“Thank you, Steel Wing,” Dahlia nodded to the guard before pushing open the door and going inside the castle proper.

As she plodded into the palace, Dahlia was greeted by the familiar interior that she had worked in for so many years past. Other maids and servants greeted her cheerfully, and she returned the sentiments as she found her way toward the office where her pass was waiting.

As she trotted along, Dahlia took note of the general mood of the other servants as well as the guards. The overall aura of the castle was… less than tasty. Before, when she came in to work, the castle’s aura had been more or less like a lightly sugared piece of cake, not overly sweet but still enough to provide sustenance and still be a treat. Dahlia was aware that she was probably the most well-fed out of all her sisters and brother, working up here in the castle, but today it sure didn’t feel like it.

Finally arriving at the office of the Acting Captain of the Guard, Dahlia straightened her skirt and knocked three times on the door.

“Come in,” a mare’s voice came from inside.

Dahlia pushed the door open and stepped into the office. Normally, she knew, this office would be occupied by the actual Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor himself. But today, there was a unicorn mare sitting in Captain Armor’s chair, dressed in her usual Lunar guard armor.

“Good morning,” Dahlia said, shutting the door behind herself.

“Ah, Dahlia,” the unicorn greeted. “I was wondering when you would come back to us. I am Captain Glimpse of the Lunar guard. I’m sitting in for Captain Shining Armor until he comes back from his honeymoon. I take it you’re here for your pass?”

Dahlia nodded. “Steel Wing told me that everypony has to carry one around now. I wouldn’t want to be suspected of being a changeling, now would I?”

“You’ve been with us for so long, I find it hard to believe anypony would suspect you of being a changeling spy,” Glimpse said with a chuckle. She reached under the desk and took out a small card. “Here’s your pass. Just keep it on yourself and be prepared to show it if asked, okay?”

“Thank you, Captain Glimpse. I should get to work now.”

“Of course,” Glimpse said cheerfully. “Don’t let me keep you.”

Using her magic to pick up and pocket the pass, Dahlia bowed farewell to Glimpse and set off back down the castle hallway to get her cleaning supplies.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully enough for Dahlia. She started work on the eastern postern, dusting off some flower pots and changing the flowers in them. By the time lunch break came around, Dahlia had cleaned all the way into the eastern offices, stopping only because the room she intended to clean next was in use at the time.

After wolfing down a daffodil and daisy sandwich and washing it down with some orange juice, Dahlia returned to the room she was meant to clean, but found it to be still in use.

She looked up and down the hallway. There was nopony else in sight.

Taking advantage of the fact that she was in the clear for now, the maid pony put her ear to the keyhole and listened hard. The room had some good acoustics and she had little trouble hearing everything that was being said inside.

“...thout proper jurisdiction from the princesses, we can’t say with certainty that they would agree with this plan!” a stallion’s voice said in a tense tone.

“There’s no beating about the bush.” Dahlia’s eyes widened a fraction. That was Captain Glimpse’s voice. “Canterlot, nay, Equestria cannot take this lying down. We cannot afford to look weak now.”

Look weak? What are they talking about? Dahlia wondered, her changeling intuition for ferreting out secrets rising to the surface. She checked again for any ponies who might catch her eavesdropping, but there wasn’t a soul nearby.

“The changeling queen’s actions are intolerable!” Another pony insisted loudly. “We must do something before word travels of how close she came to conquering Canterlot. If not, we risk being taken advantage of by other creatures!”

“Now, it is not all as bad as that,” A pony with a deep voice countered. “After all, we succeeded in repelling the invasion. Surely that will cover any ideas of weakness in our land.”

“But that was only because of Captain Armor, Princess Cadance and the six ponies from Ponyville. If us guards cannot accomplish anything without their help, then what good are we?”

“I agree. Surely this doesn’t look good to our allies and enemies around.”

“Not to mention the changeling queen is still running loose somewhere out there,” Glimpse’s voice said. “She’s a threat we cannot afford to ignore.”

There was a wave of muttering from all the occupants of the room. There were expressions of agreement and a couple of protests. Dahlia’s expression darkened. This could be a crucial point in her princess’s plans.

“I think we should pursue this while the iron is still hot,” Glimpse said to the other occupants of the room. “The changeling queen must not be allowed to roam free, or she might come back seeking revenge. Who is with me?”

A chorus of ‘aye’s rang out in the room.

“Then it is decided,” the deep-voiced pony announced. “Captain Glimpse, put together a recon squad as soon as you can. We have a pretty good idea of where the changeling queen is; it shouldn’t take too much time to find her.”

“I will get right on it, sir,” Glimpse said. “They’ll be ready to depart tomorrow night.”

“Then we are all agreed. Meeting adjourned!”

Dahlia stepped away from the door as the sound of chairs being pushed back came. She picked up a feather duster in her magical field and began to clean a nearby windowsill. The doors opened and a small group of military commanders and captains trotted out, followed by half a dozen regular guards, both Lunar and Solar.

Acting completely oblivious to their presence, Dahlia continued to dust the window until she was all alone once more. She looked at ease, but inside, her mind was whirring at top speed.

The princess must know of this.

Celestia’s sun was on the way down for the night when Dahlia flashed her pass to the guards at the gates to Canterlot Castle to leave. Ever the perfect spy, she cantered back to the spa at a leisurely pace, not betraying that anything was wrong.

The spa had already closed for the day, so Dahlia went around the rear of the dome-shaped structure and entered through the back door, next to the spa’s trash cans.

The first pony she saw was Golden Lily, who emerged from a storeroom with a smile.

“Hey, Dahlia,” Lily said cheerfully. She sniffed the air and her face grew a little worried. “Is something wrong?”

“I need to speak with the mistress of the house,” Dahlia said shortly. “I’ve learned something that she will want to hear about.”

Lily’s cheerful demeanor evaporated like water on a hot stove. “Then we should go find her immediately.”

The two mares hurried through the spa, eventually finding Spirit Wave in the office room, hunched over some documents with Aeon.

“Ah, you’re back,” Spirit Wave straightened herself up to look at Lily and Dahlia. “How was work? Did they suspect anything?”

“No, they did not. Although, the ponies in the castle now have some kind of pass system for anypony who wants to go in and out,” Dahlia levitated her pass for Spirit Wave to see.

“I’m sure we can easily get some forged should we need it,” Spirit Wave said dismissively as she examined the small card. “Is there anything else different?”

“Yes. I overheard a conversation among the upper echelons of the royal guard,” Dahlia reported. “They’re planning to send out some soldiers to try and capture Queen Chrysalis. The recon squad leaves tomorrow night.”

This caught everypony’s attention. Aeon glanced up from his documents, looking concerned. Golden Lily gasped. And Spirit Wave’s eye grew flinty, her teeth set in a half-hidden grimace.

“This… isn’t good,” Golden Lily said at last. “Queen Chrysalis is the most important part of changeling hierarchy. Do they even know where she is? I mean, we have a rough idea, but still, the badlands are pretty big.”

“Did I hear the queen was going to be captured?” Ruby Gleam poked her head into the room. “I’d say good riddance. We’d all be better off without her and her odious plans. We’ve managed on our own for so long. All she does is ruin everything.”

"That's enough, Ruby," Aeon said with a stomp of his hoof.

"Regardless of our own personal feelings, we are still Queen Chrysalis's subjects," Spirit Wave said tiredly. "I will warn her of this and tell her to lay low until the ponies give up. Ask her to disguise herself as a stone or something."

“Do you really think that she’ll listen to you?” Ruby asked critically. “She hasn’t before.”

Golden Lily snickered. “Nor is she going to turn herself into a stone.”

Spirit Wave sighed. “She’s supposed to listen to me. Although, she hasn’t replied to my last letter yet. Maybe she’s too low on energy to perform the spell to send letters…” The spa owner set her face in a weary, but determined expression. “You go have dinner without me. I’ll write another letter to Chrysalis about this.”

“Are you sure?” Aeon asked, concerned. “You’ve been missing meals ever since Saturday. At least come out and have dinner with us.”

“It has been a while since we all had dinner together,” Golden Lily agreed. “I hear Snowy Skies found a nice place at Restaurant Row the other night.”

Spirit Wave looked conflicted for a moment, then slumped her shoulders and smiled. “Very well. Once everypony is done cleaning up from work, let’s trot down to Restaurant Row and see what kind of eatery Snowy has discovered.”

It worried Spirit Wave a little that Chrysalis had not yet replied to her letter. It had certainly been scathing enough to warrant a heated, rapid-fire response from the changeling queen, but even after a full day, there was no sign of a reply from Chrysalis. Spirit knew Chrysalis; her anger burned hot, as opposed to her own, which burned cold. Her fiery temper would not take an insult like that lying down; it just wasn’t in her nature.

I hope she is alright.

So thought Spirit Wave as she and her six employees left the spa for Restaurant Row, casting a longing gaze at the darkening sky.

Chapter 6 - Deception and Disgrace

“Did you see the waiter?” Golden Lily snickered and pointed to the earth pony mare who was just leaving their table. “She’s sure got a large flank.”

“Quit looking at their flanks.” Silent Moon pushed her. “And it’s waitress. Not waiter.”

Deciding to change the subject before things got out of hoof, Aeon asked, “So, how did you come by this place, Snowy?”

“Oh, this restaurant?” Snowy Skies said. “I was out the other night looking for somewhere to, uhm, have dinner, and I thought this place smelled good. The food, that is.”

“It’s not been rated by Zesty Gourmand,” Ruby pointed out. “Although, personally, places rated by Gourmand tend to all serve very similar things. You might be led into believing it’s a chain.”

“Yeah, I know, right?” Snowy agreed. “This place had some nice food, though. I spent the evening with a food taster who wanted some company for his work that evening. Wanted a ‘pedestrian opinion’ of the food, was what he said.”

“And did you give it to him?”

“Yeah, I sure did!” Snowy said, looking pleased with herself. “I’m not going to say no to a free meal, am I?”

“Well, this place must be good if you’re willing to come back here and pay bits for a second meal,” Golden Lily smiled. “Even if there is no meat,” she finished quietly.

“Oh, but that’s the best part,” Snowy said earnestly. “This restaurant has some kind of gourmet chef from Griffonstone working here. He makes vegetarian meat.”

“Come again?” Silent Moon asked curiously.

“According to the food taster, the chef can make vegetables and greens taste like meat. It’s a unique dining experience that allows plant eaters to have a dip into the menus of Griffonstone and other meat-eating nations. It’s actually quite ambitious.”

Dahlia inclined her head. She had changed out of her maid’s outfit for the night. “It must have been of good quality to attract a repeat customer in you.”

Throughout the entire conversation, Spirit Wave had made only the smallest of contributions, with a couple of ‘yes’s, and ‘that’s right’s when pressed for her opinion. While her sister was a stubborn and impetuous oaf who generally refused to hear any other opinion, she was still her sister and Spirit couldn’t help but worry about her safety. She was out there somewhere, likely still recovering from the love magic that sent her flying in the first place. But that wasn’t the worrisome part. Chrysalis had still not replied to her letters and that was most troubling. Chrysalis was one of those that needed to have the last say, whether it made sense or not; silence was not in her nature and that got Spirit wondering what was going on here.

It was her stubbornness that landed her in this spot in the first place. If she had just stuck to the plan, They would’ve been relaxing in Canterlot Castle by now, ruling over all with no one the wiser, but no, she just had to go and reveal herself and mess everything up, albeit that had almost worked… If she hadn’t started singing.

Oh, my dear sister… If only you listen to your adviser half the time. You could’ve gone places. Many places.

At least she still had Oryctes and the twins with her, so at least they had some brains among them. Perhaps she could write a letter to one of them instead. They may be able to relay a message for her.

“Lily, don’t stick that up your nose!” Aeon’s voice punctured the bubble of her thoughts.

“But it’s so long and thin.” She removed two wooden sticks from her nostril and put it back on the table; a good portion of them was covered in slime. “They go all the way up your nose and clean everything out, as you can see.”

“They’re called chopsticks. They’re not meant for that, doofus.” Ruby Gleam cringed at the slime-coated utensils and stuck her tongue out. “They’re meant for eating with.”

“I suppose we’ll have to get you new ones,” Dahlia said rather calmly.

“That waiter is going to be in for a shock when she comes back.” Lily grinned.

“Waitress.”

Spirit Wave felt a hoof tap her shoulder and she turned to see Aeon looking at her. “Mistress, are you alright? You don’t seem yourself tonight.”

“When are we ever ourselves?” Ruby Gleam remarked.

“Ruby…” Dahlia warned.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ruby Gleam muttered, reaching for a glass of water to occupy herself with.

“Is it about the guard operation?” Aeon continued. “The one for the queen.”

Spirit Wave looked dourly at the table. “Dahlia, when did you say they would be sending that patrol out?”

“Tomorrow night, is what I heard,” Dahlia answered dutifully.

Spirit Wave let out a small sigh. “Then there’s still time to warn my sister. I should get back to the spa and-”

“Mistress, with all due respect,” Aeon interrupted. “We are here for dinner. Your sister can wait an hour. You’ve been missing meals since the wedding, and I’ll be condemned if I don’t get you to stop starving yourself.”

Spirit Wave looked as though she wanted to protest, but then sat back and relented. “You’re right. And what kind of pony would I be if I didn’t listen to those who work under me?”

“That’d make you just like your sister,” Ruby said in a low voice behind her glass of water.

There was a brief distraction as the food arrived. The server brought it all on a trolley, changed out Lily’s chopsticks rather reluctantly, and before long, all of the spa ponies were tucking into dinner.

“Hey, it does taste like meat,” Silent Moon commented as she cut into her chop.

“I know, right?” Snowy Skies agreed as she got into her steak and hayfries. “Hard to believe it’s all actually plants.”

“My compliments to the chef,” Dahlia chewed a small mouthful of food, looking pleased.

Aeon didn’t take his eyes off Spirit Wave until she levitated up a fork and took a bite of her dinner. Only once his mistress was done chewing did he start to eat his own meal.

“This is rather good,” Aeon’s boss admitted, taking another bite of the faux meat, after grinding some pepper onto it. “I will have to remember this place.”

The seven ponies sat there in the restaurant as the lights dotting Restaurant Row flickered on. There were many other ponies walking the streets, enjoying the night air and ducking into shops to browse and buy.

“You know, Canterlot’s ponies here adapt rather quickly,” Snowy Skies remarked. “Not even a week ago, the city was almost overrun by changelings. Not that you’d be able to tell from anypony on the streets tonight; they seem as happy as ever.”

“Well, what would be the point of moping on about it?” Dahlia asked reasonably. “Crisis is over, everything can go back to the way it was before.”

“If only things could go back to the way it was before for us,” Ruby Gleam muttered as she drank from her glass of water.

“We’re all trying our best, Ruby,” Aeon said evenly. “And things have been going well for us since the invasion. We’ve had the usual supply of customers and guests at the spa.”

Ruby said nothing but took another bite of her dinner.

“In any case,” Aeon continued. “The new shelf for the cocktail glasses arrived, so I think I’ll get onto assembling it once we’re done here. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.”

“That’s good,” Dahlia agreed. “The lobby has been looking empty without that case.”

The rest of the meal passed on by with only small talk from other staff members talking about work and what they planned to do in their off time. It all felt very natural, and nopony would suspect that it was all very carefully rehearsed, one conversation out of hundreds that they had practiced for such an occasion, with only recent events substituted in for older ones.

After paying and leaving a generous tip for services rendered, the seven spa ponies found themselves back on the streets of Restaurant Row.

“That was nice,” Silent Moon sighed. Then she said brightly, “Who wants to get dessert?”

“I’ll go with you!” Golden Lily waved her foreleg in the air. “Anypony else?”

“I should put that cocktail glass case together,” Aeon gestured with his head back in the direction of the spa. “You girls have fun, though.”

“I’m going back, too,” Spirit Wave seemed to be feeling better after having had a decent meal. “I have a letter to write.”

“Ah,” Ruby Gleam nodded sagely. “Then I’m going with Lily and Moon. A night out on the town sounds like a treat.”

“Just be careful,” Aeon stressed. “We don’t know what security they might’ve beefed up after that meeting Dahlia overheard.”

“Beefed up,” Lily snickered. “I get it.”

Leaving Ruby, Lily, and Moon to see to their dessert, Spirit Wave and her three remaining employees made their way back to the Metamorphosis. As Aeon had said, there was a crate in the corner that held the pieces to the cocktail glass case, which the unicorn quickly opened and began to read the instructions while he levitated the parts out of the crate with his magic.

Dahlia mumbled something about getting an early night’s rest and disappeared into her room, leaving Spirit Wave and Snowy Skies to their own devices.

“I… should probably go help Aeon with putting the cocktail glasses on the shelf once it’s done,” Snowy said to her boss once they were in the kitchen. “Good luck with your, ah, letter. I hope your sister heeds your words.”

“Me too, Snowy. Me too.”

Spirit Wave watched until Snowy Skies had left the kitchen, then sighed dejectedly and trotted back to her room. Activating the flameless lanterns to illuminate the space, she went over to her writing desk and sat down before it. Then she levitated a sheet of paper out and her favorite pen.

Dear sister, She began. Then the unicorn frowned and crumpled up the paper, taking a new sheet.

Your majesty,
You have not replied to my previous letter. I will assume that you have received it and are merely remaining silent to spite me. I am writing with all urgency. The leaders of Equestria intend on pursuing you and bringing you to their so-called justice. They plan to send out a crack reconnaissance squad to your last known location tomorrow night. I urge you, either quickly vacate the area or find a place to hide. We are good at hiding, so that should be no problem for you. Please take my advice into consideration, if only this once. I do not want to have to storm Canterlot Castle if you happen to be captured.

Capping her pen, the spa owner lit her horn and sent the letter on its way. Hopefully Chrysalis would read this one and take into consideration her words. Tomorrow she would take a little visit over to the barracks of Canterlot Castle and see just what kind of ponies they would be sending out after the changeling queen. Hopefully by then Chrysalis would have replied.

For now, she had to wait for all her staff to come back, then she could lock up the spa for the night and go to sleep.

The next day passed as was standard for such a luxurious and renowned place of relaxation. They received and pampered a passel of mares and a stallion. By the time it came to close the spa for the day, the entire staff of the Metamorphosis were feeling quite accomplished, not to mention well-fed.

“Good work, everypony,” Spirit Wave said as she flipped the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ on the front doors. “We’re getting back into the swing of things around here.”

“All thanks to your leadership,” Aeon purred as he took off his bow tie and put it inside his desk.

Ruby Gleam trotted out into the lobby and grinned. “Yeah, your sister could learn a few things from you.”

Spirit Wave considered this praise for a second. “Well, it’s not all just me. Running this spa is a team effort; I couldn’t do it on my own. And I’m sure that in my own hooves, my sister would be more than capable.”

There was a moment of awkward silence among the spa ponies.

“Wow,” Ruby said with a shake of her head. “I don’t know how you can say that with a straight face, mistress.”

“Ruby…” Aeon warned.

The pegasus waved her hoof as if chasing a fly away. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry, but I really do not agree with the idea that Chrysalis could run a spa better than us. She can’t even run her empire, that wench.”

Aeon looked as though he was about to say something to reprimand his colleague, but then closed his mouth and sighed. “Let’s just get the place cleaned up for the evening.”

Silent Moon nudged Ruby Gleam as they went back into the depths to put away their uniforms. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re right. But just try to keep the criticism somewhat constructive, okay?”

“Okay, okay…” Ruby Gleam sulked. “But if Queen Chrysalis would just listen to us, to her closest advisor for once, her own sister, we might actually get somewhere!”

“You wanted to take over Canterlot?” Golden Lily asked curiously. The other members of the staff looked on with interest as well.

“Well, that was the objective!” Ruby said, flustered. “We had the perfect plan set up to conquer the city in one fell swoop, and our esteemed queen messed it all up. You can’t blame me for being a little salty about that.”

There was a general murmuring of assent, but the subject was dropped.

Meanwhile in the lobby, Spirit Wave drew the curtains around the front entrance, blocking out the lowering sun. She licked her lips and concentrated. This was going to take some tricky shifting. She had already informed Nahara of her plan, and in preparation, the castle maid Dahlia had left a couple of doors unlocked for her mistress.

After making sure the spa was all locked up tight, Spirit Wave hurried to the back door and slipped out into the pre-evening light. Nopony paid her a second glance as she trotted purposefully towards Canterlot Castle’s guard barracks.

Once Spirit Wave was within a good stone’s throw of the entrance to the barracks, she slipped into an alcove between a restaurant and an observatory and waited in the shadows.

She did not have to wait long.

From her hiding place, she saw a familiar mare in a maid’s uniform exit through a side door in the palace. Dahlia presented her pass to the guard on duty and left the castle grounds. Spirit Wave watched as the maid cantered casually over to the alley where she was waiting and, after surreptitiously checking to see that nopony was watching, disappeared inside.

“Mistress,” Dahlia murmured with a small bow to Spirit. “From my scouting and eavesdropping around the castle, I have deduced that the team being sent out to apprehend the changeling queen will be leaving in about two hours off the eastern launch pad. I left the doors there unlocked, but in the case that somepony locked them again, I also managed to procure an extra ring of keys and hid them in the second flowerpot in the main entryway.”

“Good work, Dahlia,” Spirit Wave congratulated. “Now all I need is your pass, and then we can get this show on the street.”

Dahlia levitated her pass from her pocket and passed it to the spa owner. Then there were two flashes of emerald flame and where the spa owner had been standing, there was now the castle maid’s form, and vice versa.

‘Dahlia’ pocketed the pass and nodded to the new ‘Spirit Wave’.

“Head back to the Metamorphosis,” Dahlia ordered. “I’ll be back as soon as I gather enough information.”

Spirit Wave nodded obediently and trotted out from the alley, taking a meandering route back to the spa so as not to draw any unwanted attention.

Meanwhile, the new Dahlia waited for five minutes before also leaving the shadowy alley. Except this time she put on a distressed sort of expression and jogged back to the castle grounds.

The guardspony in golden armor standing watch saw her approaching.

“Oh. Dahlia,” He said as she came closer. “I thought your shift was over for the day.”

“Sorry to bother you,” Dahlia said sincerely. “But I think I left my wallet in the break room. May I go and look for it, please? I don’t have enough bits on me for dinner.”

The guard smiled lazily. “Yeah, sure. Just, you know the rules about letting anypony into the castle as of late.”

Levitating her pass from her pocket, Dahlia showed it to the guard, who gave it a once-over.

“It’s all an extra bother, these passes,” he said as he gave Dahlia an approving nod. “But orders are orders. I mean, as if we’re supposed to memorize everypony in the castle. Why, I can barely remember everypony in my unit.”

“Ponies are just high-strung after the attempted invasion,” Dahlia said understandingly. “But I know what you mean. The threat is gone, and it’s not as if the changelings are in any shape to try sneaking into Canterlot again, are they?”

The guard chortled. “No, I suppose not. Go on now, take as long as you need. I hope you find your wallet!”

Dahlia curtseyed and after putting her pass back into her pocket, went inside.

Once the door shut behind her, Dahlia went over to the side of the main entryway where there were rows of multicolored flowers in ornamental pots. She lit her horn and lifted the flowers out of the second pot. Just as promised, there was a ring of keys inside. Dahlia picked it up and slipped it into her pocket quietly.

“Now to make our way over to the eastern launchpad…” the maid muttered to herself.

She had a fairly good idea of how the castle was laid out, borne from the many reconnaissance runs she had made in preparation for the invasion. Of course, sneaking into the castle had been much easier then; there had been so many ponies coming and going to prepare for the wedding that a stranger wasn’t given so much as a second glance. She had been disguised as an interior decorator back then.

Underneath her placid face, Psithyra scowled. All that planning and scheming and plotting, all those sleepless nights and long days, all to come tumbling down at the last minute due to her sister’s ego, it was enough to make anypony furious.

But however turbulent her real self was, Psithyra refused to let it show in her persona. Dahlia wore a bright and innocent expression befitting her station as she trotted about the castle, passing guard patrols and other servants. The castle maid offered polite greetings to those she met, presenting her pass when asked for it and giving her same wallet story.

Entering the eastern wing of the castle, Dahlia found the doors to the launchpad carefully watched by two stallions in Lunar guard armor. They looked as alert as ever, their shifts probably only starting at most an hour ago. This one was going to be a little tricky. Maids weren’t permitted on the launchpads, so flashing her pass wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

Ducking back around the corner, with a flash of green fire, Dahlia no longer stood there. Instead, there was another Lunar guard stallion private. He knocked some of his own armor askew as if he had been in a fight, then he dashed out from around the corner.

“Sergeant! Sergeant!” he panted, skidding to a halt in front of the two legitimate guardsponies. “Help! I think I met a changeling!”

The sergeant immediately perked up. “What? Where?!” his partner bristled. Under her false face, Psithyra smiled.

“I was patrolling as usual, then I was knocked out from behind!” The guard who Psithyra was disguised as babbled. “When I came to, my pass was gone! It must be a changeling!”

The two guards looked at each other, then one of them galloped off, likely going for backup or to alert someone of higher authority.

“Get yourself looked at, private,” the other guard told Psithyra. “You look like you got socked real good.”

“Yes sir,” Psithyra’s disguise said. “I’ll just take a shortcut through the launchpad back to the barracks.”

The other guardspony unlocked the door for him and gestured with a wing to go on through.

And just like that, Psithyra was in. Even with all the heightened security, these ponies were still easy to fool as ever.

The term ‘launchpad’ was really somewhat of a misnomer. It was actually a sort of tunnel-like structure that relied on the natural wind currents to propel airborne ponies out into the sky. Runway was probably a better name for it, but then again, what did she know about it anyway? She was only probably the smartest changeling in existence.

Once out of sight, she had taken the appearance of a different Lunar guard, this time one of a batpony mare sergeant. There was a lot of activity on the runway, she noticed. A gaggle of ponies in lightweight flying armor were gathered around the middle. There were also a small group of ponies holding expensive looking cameras, who were wearing visitor’s passes around their necks on lanyards. She had to admire their tenacity; they would do anything for a scoop.

Under the pretense of tidying up a barrel of spears and harnesses, the changeling princess listened in on their conversation.

“Could this finally be the end to the changeling threat to Equestria?” one pony said, looking through photos on her camera. “Find out on tomorrow’s news!”

“You sound like a newscaster. Maybe you should take it up.” A stallion with glasses nudged her.

Another pony wearing a fedora and holding a notepad was interviewing one of the batponies. Out of the corner of her eye, Psithyra noticed that this one was more heavily armored than the others, although the body under it didn’t seem like it had much muscle on it. And upon closer inspection, the armor looked a couple of sizes too small.

“Lance Corporal Satin Breeze,” The fedora-wearing pony began. “Is it true that the Queen of the Changelings is somewhere out in the badlands?”

“We believe that to be so,” the mare replied with a nod. “We believe she has taken refuge out there and that she would be recovering from such an attack after Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor repelled her and her forces from Canterlot.”

“And what will happen should the squadron find the Changeling Queen?” The journalist asked.

“That’s classified,” Satin Breeze replied apologetically. “But I’m sure that whatever happens, my sister and her team will be able to handle it accordingly. Sergeant Breeze is a capable individual and a great leader. I have every confidence she will see them through.”

As the journalists’ questions drifted away from anything relevant, Psithyra risked getting a little closer to inspect just how many ponies were being sent out as well as their armaments. Anything, even the smallest detail, could be important to her when it came to giving advice. If Chrysalis was willing to act on it, that was.

Psithyra picked up a hoof-full of short javelins that were meant to the thrown from the air and carried them over to another barrel that was nearer to her objective. As she shuffled them around and began rearranging the spears to all point one way, she took stock of the ponies who were being sent to look for her sister.

There were eight of them, all of them batponies. They were standing in formation on the side of the runway, out of the way of anypony who might need to use the wind tunnel before they did.

All of them were decked out in Lunar guard armor and helmets, with swords sheathed at their sides. The lead batpony had on a red scarf around her neck, just above her armor. Psithyra didn’t know they were allowed to stylize their armor with additional objects, but it wasn’t important, so she didn’t care.

“All right, troops!” a loud voice barked. A serious looking batpony marched out from another door. This one had a captain’s stripes on her armor. Psithyra recognized her as Captain Glimpse, the current head of the Lunar Guard. “Atten-tion!”

The eight guards stood to attention in a second and were already lined up.

“Final check before departure!” Captain Glimpse shouted. “Keep on your wingpony and keep your eyes peeled! While the Changeling Queen might not have the same power as she did during the invasion, she is still a wily and dangerous creature! Do not let your guards down anywhere! Remember your secret questions in case you get separated. Do you understand?!”

“Ma’am, yes, Ma’am!” the assembled batponies roared back.

“Good! Now, with a good tailwind like what we’re getting, you should reach the badlands by tomorrow morning. However! I do not want you to start searching until you’ve had some rest! Remember, always keep at least two ponies on watch!” Glimpse instructed. “Keep your swords loose in their sheaths,” she marched over to the front of the group. “Sergeant Breeze, you’re up! Good luck on your mission. Lunaspeed!”

As a well-oiled unit, the eight batponies stepped out onto the main part of the runway. The wind from the tunnel buffeted them slightly, but they acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. In unison, they all opened their wings to catch the gale.

Then two by two, they shot off into the dimming sky. Carried by the tailwind, the eight ponies soon became nothing but specks in the sunset.

Ah, chitin. This isn’t good. Psithyra decided that she had to get out of here quickly and pen another letter to her sister. She had about twelve hours to do so, but here she was stuck deep in enemy territory, and with the retrieval team away, someone was bound to notice her eventually. She made sure to especially keep out of sight of the captain. As Captain of the Lunar Guard, she would surely know each and every pony under her.

Slinking to the back, Psithyra crouched under a trio of barrels and as she passed, there was a quick flash of green light and emerging past the barrels was a green unicorn mare carrying a camera.

She was quick to blend into the news crowd, already pretending to take pictures alongside them of Lance Corporal Satin Breeze.

It was going well, and the news group soon left the eastern launchpad behind. However, this posed a new problem. Psithyra had no idea where the ponies were headed to next, and if they passed a checkpoint, she was done for. She would need to slip away before that happens and that wasn’t a hard thing to do, with the ponies all yakking about what they were going to put on the news.

True to that, they didn’t see Psithyra slip away from them after they left the launchpad doors behind. Momentarily safe, she flashed back into Dahlia and trotted down a hallway that she knew would lead to the royal gardens. From there she could get back to the spa with minimal guard resistance; after all, what kind of security risk was a garden?

Surely enough, the doors to the royal gardens were unguarded. Shut, but unsupervised. It was locked, but thankfully, she had been granted a set of keys by the actual Dahlia, which was something she had to thank her for later.

It took a few tries to get the right key, but eventually Dahlia was able to slip out into the flower-riddled entryway to the royal gardens. The sun was almost completely gone by now, and it would be much easier to escape in the dark of the night. All she had to do was-

“Oh, Dahlia. I didn’t expect to see you here,” a stallion’s voice came.

Dahlia froze. She turned to look at who had spoken, berating herself internally for not tasting around before setting hoof out into the open.

It was the guard who had let her in at the beginning.

“Hello, sir,” Dahlia said pleasantly. The guardspony was still wearing his armor, but he had removed his helmet. That was something at least; if force had to be used, she would aim there.

“Did you find your wallet?” the guard asked, coming closer.

Dahlia nodded affirmatively. "I did. What are you doing out here?"

"Just taking a walk," the guard shrugged. "My shift ended a little while ago and I like to have a stroll in the gardens if I have the time. It's very peaceful here."

“It certainly is,” Dahlia agreed. She began to walk towards the exit. “Well, I’ll leave you to your walk…”

Dahlia moved to pass the guard, but he extended a wing and blocked her. Under Dahlia’s face, Psithyra tensed. If her cover had been blown, then she would have to fight to kill or silence. The changeling princess subconsciously began charging a stun spell at the base of her horn.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Dahlia,” the guard said in a low voice. “Earlier today, there was an unconfirmed sighting of a changeling.”

“R-Really?” Dahlia acted surprised. “What happened? Why is it unconfirmed?”

The guardspony looked serious. “Some Lunar guard got clocked on the head by somepony and had his pass stolen. I think he’s in the barracks now, but we still haven’t caught who did it. You’ve been working here for over twenty years now, so I wanted to tell you so you’d be on your guard. Nopony else needs to fall prey to those shapeshifting bugs.”

“Well, thank you for telling me,” Dahlia said seriously. “I expect they’ll be scouring the castle tonight for this mysterious changeling. As for me, I’m going home and having dinner.”

“Would you like me to walk you home?” The guard offered.

But Dahlia shook her head good-naturedly. “I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you. I’ll be fine, and thank you for the warning.”

The guard bade Dahlia good night and went off deeper into the gardens while the castle maid walked up the steps and out onto the bustling evening Canterlot streets.

Underneath the neutral face of Dahlia, Psithyra smiled a wicked little grin.

Chapter 7 - The Inspection

Dear Queen Chrysalis,
After some scouting around inside Canterlot Castle, I have determined the number and armaments of the ponies that are being sent to the badlands. In the best possible scenario, you would no longer be in the badlands at all and the ponies would be wasting their time. However, should you still be in the area, I recommend a disguise. A rock, a burnt out tree, a lizard, anything to conceal yourself from their searching eyes. A fight is not something we want on us right now, win or lose, it will bring back unwanted attention. There will be eight Lunar soldiers in the pack, lightly armored and armed in reconnaissance gear. They will be arriving in the badlands come morning.

Just this once, if you can manage that, please just listen to your advisor and go along with her plan. She knows better than you and she knows how to deal with situations such as this. Stay down, and this will be over before you know it.

Psithyra put down her pen and looked over the letter. It seemed to convey the right degree of urgency without being too disrespectful that her sister would just huff it aside. There were less than seven hours until morning and she had spent the time between her arrival back at the spa and now drafting letters and throwing them into the trash one after the other.

This one, at least, seemed to be satisfactory.

There was no time to waste. It would not take very long for the letter to arrive in her sister’s hooves, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was whether Queen Chrysalis had managed to rally any other changelings to her. Getting them all to hide would be a task in itself, and Psithyra’s confidence in her sister’s leadership skills had taken somewhat of a severe blow in the last week.

At last, the changeling princess lit up her horn in an emerald glow and the letter was whisked away toward its addressee in a shower of green light.

All she could do was wait now and hope that her sister would at least have some shred of common sense to do as she said.

She had no doubt that even in her weakened state, Chrysalis would be able to hold her own against a squadron of eight royal guards, but that wasn’t the case here. Should she win, Canterlot would simply send more until even the Changeling Queen couldn’t keep up. The best thing to do is to lay low and let this whole event blow over. Pony minds were short-lived. Should they be unable to find her, Psithyra had no doubt they would go back to their everyday lives and allow the changelings to recuperate.

Surely even my sister could see that this plan is our best plan?

Then she shook her head. Chrysalis could defy any kind of common sense thrown her way.

Never mind. It’s bad for my health to focus on the negative.

There was nothing to be done until Chrysalis replied to her letter, so the changeling princess left her room and went into the storeroom where the secret passage to the crystal caves was. She pulled the hidden switch and the shelf swung aside silently to reveal the tunnel downwards.

Psithyra buzzed her wings into motion and flew down the passage and soon found herself in the caverns. She lit her horn and activated the flameless lanterns that had been installed around the filing cabinets which held the secrets of countless ponies in Canterlot.

She smiled to herself. It always calmed Psithyra down to see the fruits of her labor, and she sat herself down on the cavern floor and opened the nearest cabinet, drawing out a random file with her magic.

This was the file for a pony named Cobble Stone. A prominent member of the city planning council, and also a pony with a hidden, and crippling salt addiction. He hid it from the public quite well, but often came to the Metamorphosis for sauna sessions to sweat out the distinctive smell of salt. If the council caught wind of his vices, he would be kicked off the board for sure.

Psithyra shook her head in amusement and slid the file back into the cabinet. Then she chose another file at random and licked her lips in anticipation. Oh, this was better than any tabloid magazine in Equestria. To hold a pony’s reputation and way of life in her hooves was power that you couldn’t buy.

Psithyra stayed there for a good hour, reading various files that Aeon had neatly documented and positively squirming with glee at each biography she drew out to peruse. By the time she felt a yawn coming on, the changeling princess was in much better spirits than she had been when she had written the letter.

After putting the files back in order, Psithyra flew back up into the spa and shut the secret door behind herself. She went for a quick shower, then went to bed, her head still buzzing with ponies’ secrets and foibles.

Her dreams were just as good.

The first thing that Psithyra noticed when she woke up the next morning was a small scrap of paper resting on her face.

“About time,” she said and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before picking up the scrap. Her face soured.

I don’t know where you get off lecturing me all the time, but it ill becomes you. Eight little ponies whose military hasn’t fought a real war in centuries is no match for the Queen of the Changelings. I will not run and hide from these juice-drinking milksops, and you should be ashamed of even suggesting I do it.

There was no signature at the bottom this time. The letter dropped from Psithyra’s telekinetic grip and fluttered onto the sheets.

“That. Utter. Moron!” Psithyra slapped her forehooves onto the bed, making the sheets ripple. She let out a scream of frustration and fell back onto her pillow, seething.

There was a knock on the bedroom door.

“Mistress? Is everything all right?” Aeon’s voice came.

Taking a deep breath and counting to five, Psithyra answered back, “I’m fine, thank you. I’ll be right with you all.”

This seemed to satisfy Aeon, and he didn’t say any more.

Psithrya in the meantime, left her bed and went to the bathroom for a shower, all the while muttering under her breath about just how dense her sister could be and whether that tiny brain in her head had actually ever been used before.

At this point, it’s probably just up there collecting dust and cobwebs…

She thought of writing another letter, to try and convince Chrysalis to abandon her thoughts on engaging the small team. She would surely win, even in her weakened state, but it was the aftermath she was worried about, and which the Queen was too stubborn to comprehend. In the end, she decided it wasn’t worth her time.

“What a mess,” Psithyra said as she dried herself off with a towel and morphed into Spirit Wave for the day’s work. There really wasn’t much she could do now but wait to see what happened.

Ponies were dumb and dense creatures, but they would never forget an act of atrocity against them. If Chrysalis were to end the lives of the guards sent after her, there would be repercussions, not just for her, but for all changeling kind. As of now, there were already guard patrols going about, investigating the occurences of the siege. That was already unwanted attention on them and Chrysalis was all to blame for their failure in the first place.

As Spirit Wave came out to help with opening the spa, the rest of her employees seemed to be as relaxed as normal, with Aeon manning the front desk while the other four bustled about, arranging piles of fluffy dressing gowns and towels for the customers.

Spirit Wave trotted to the front desk to speak with Aeon.

“How many reservations do we have today?” she asked, peering at the ledger.

“Four today.” Aeon tapped a quill along the left side of the parchment. “I guess ponies are finally leaving the wedding behind. At least, the townsfolk seem to be.”

“Life must go on,” Ruby Gleam said bracingly as she cantered by after switching the door sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open’. “Even ponies know that it does no good to focus on the past for too long.”

“Though all changeling kind now have an even worse reputation…” Silent Moon huffed. “Like it wasn’t bad enough already.”

“We only have one to blame for all this.” Ruby narrowed her eyes at no one in particular. “It’s because our oh so great Changeling Queen can’t listen to her advisor for even one second that we’re even in this mess today.”

“Yes, well… we’re open now,” Aeon said, tapping the tip of his quill on the edge of the inkpot to dislodge any excess ink. “So enough of this talk of changelings. We have ponies to pamper.”

“Aye aye, captain, sir!” Golden Lily raised a hoof to her brow and snickered. “Bring on the ponies!”

Spirit Wave looked at her employees and managed to crack a small smile. No matter how troublesome and petulant Chrysalis became, it was good to know that she had these six on her side.

For now, life would go on and they would just have to make the most of it as best as they could. She hoped that things would soon be able to go back to the way they were, but that was highly unlikely.

Their first two customers came and went in a swish, with almost nothing interesting to tell about their lives, though the second one did mention he owned a vault full of bits at the Canterlot Bank. He was even kind enough to disclose the location of his secret key.

“Did you hear what he said?” Golden Lily rolled on the ground as she laughed. “He thinks he’s the richest pony in town. Not for long, huh?”

“Be sensible, now,” Snowy Skies said as she came in from the cocktail lounge. “Secret vault or not, he clearly has a drinking problem. Not only did he go for a vodka cocktail, he also bought the entire bottle. So that’s an extra twenty-three bits for us.”

“Could be a lot more if we get to that vault of his.”

“It’s a good piece of information, but we don’t need to raid that vault, at least not anytime soon.” Silent Moon wiped her hooves on a towel. “At least we know where it is and how to open it if we need it. Like the mistress says, we don’t need more unwanted attention.”

“Wisely said, Silent Moon.” Spirit Wave grinned. “Now come on, clean up before the next guest arrives.”

Just then, the glass front double doors were pushed open, accompanied with the glint of sunlight on golden metal.

Aeon looked up from his ledger. “Welcome to the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlor,” the white unicorn said. “Are you here for a session of rest and relaxation, Misters…?”

The one in front, a grey coated pegasus with an eyepatch, shook his head, then gestured with a hoof to his companion. He was a grizzled looking earth pony with a slightly unshaven face and a light purple coat. What caught their attention was the pony’s neck. It was incredibly wrinkled, almost like that of a dried fruit.

“Hello,” the earth pony greeted. “My name is Agent Plums, and this is Agent Cinders. We’re on her majesties’ service,” both the guards produced a badge with a sun and a crescent moon engraved on them. “Would you mind if we had a look around?”

Spirit Wave blinked. She hadn’t thought they would already be here to investigate. “By all means, good sirs, you may look around. But I do not suppose you would find anything of worth. We are but a humble spa for ponies to come and forget the troubles of the world.”

Agent Cinders nodded. His partner’s face brightened and he said, “Fantastic. We won’t get in the way of your work. All we’re looking for is maybe some clues.”

“Clues about what, may I inquire?” Spirit Wave asked curiously.

“That’s classified,” Agent Plums said. “I can’t tell you.” Then he seemed to think it over. “But it is pretty interesting, so maybe I’ll tell you. I’m going to tell you.”

His partner flashed him a weird look, but said nothing.

“O… kay…” Spirit Wave said slowly.

“Yeah, okay, yeah, okay,” Agent Plums said before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “We have reason to believe that this spa was one of the last places Princess Cadance was at before she was taken and switched out for that changeling queen. Now, we know that good, hardworking ponies like yourself wouldn’t have had a hoof in the act itself, but we need to see if maybe there are any changeling clues around. We’ve been to two other places already, and there are three more on the list after this spa.”

“Gee, I always thought ponies were brainless…” Lily leaned over and whispered to Ruby. “But this is amazing.”

The owner of the spa nodded twice at the guard’s explanation. “I see. You are more than welcome to have a look, but we clean the spa every day, so if there was any evidence, we might have mopped it up already. Shame of what happened, really, with the wedding.”

The two guardsponies split up and went deeper into the spa. Thankfully the next pony to have reserved a spot there today had not yet arrived, so all that was being done was a quick but thorough wipe down of the equipment in preparation for the next guest.

“What’s up with the armor?” Lily nudged Ruby again. “I’ve never seen Solar Guard armor like this.”

“Quit it.” Ruby shoved her back. “Eclipse Guard, remember? They handle the investigations.”

“I’ve heard of them.” Snowy Skies nodded. “I’ve seen some of them. Batponies. They’ve gone door to door questioning everypony. I got back to the spa as quickly as I could to avoid them talking to me. Supposedly, they answer straight to the princesses. Some special sect.”

The guards, true to their word, did not get in the way of the spa ponies’ work. They carefully examined every room of the establishment, running their hooves over the sinks and looking under piles of towels which no doubt meant that everything would have to be cleaned again.

Spirit Wave kept a close watch of them from the corner of her eye to not appear so suspicious or nosy. There would be no clues left from their abduction of the Princess of Love, which had been very easy. All they did was use their usual incense trick and the secret passage to the mines, and their work here was done. The entrance to the caves was well hidden and thanks to the strict scouring regimen, there would be no physical evidence left behind to find.

“No sign of anything changeling,” Plums called to his partner as he descended the stairway to the basement and living areas. “I’m going to look below.”

Spirit Wave didn’t like it that he would be going down there where she couldn’t see him, so when his one-eyed partner wasn’t looking, she moved for the staircase, her form shifting and melting until she was just a little rat, hopping its way down each step after the guardspony.

She spotted the wrinkled neck guard snooping around her room, even checking under her bed. The rat smiled. He wouldn’t find anything in there. She had even disposed of the letters her sister had sent her, just in case something like that would ever happen. Being the queen’s advisor, being prepared for anything was something she needed to be good with.

Ducking into the corner, she then transformed herself into an empty pot, stopping beside a row of other empty pots in the storeroom. This was the only place she needed to make sure the guards wouldn’t find. Should they find the entrance to the mines now, they would surely come back again.

Once Agent Plums was done investigating the living quarters, he again appeared around the corner, peeking his head into the storeroom where Psithyra was now positioned. The changelings had blocked the entrance with a large board that was painted to look like the wall, followed by three shelves of ceramics and various ointments, just to put off anypony should they want to check behind them.

Plums slid a hoof over some of the pots, then scratched at his gnarled neck. “Doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary down here.” He clicked his tongue. “Nice. I knew these gentle spa workers won’t be hiding anything. It’s because my brain started doing things.”

And with that, he left to return back upstairs as Psithyra resumed her rat form, a satisfied smirk across its little mouth.

Chapter 8 - Internal Dissent

The next day at the spa went quietly, for the most part. Dahlia returned from her job at the castle with an uncharacteristically grim look on her pony face.

“What’s the matter?” Aeon asked as he sat behind the lobby’s counter table. “Has there been a development?”

“I knew it! There has been, hasn’t there!” Golden Lily dropped down from the ceiling before the cloth she had been using fluttered down on top of her snout. “Chrysalis wasn’t going to listen to the mistress and only bad things could come out of that!”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Ruby Gleam groaned and smacked her head on the table counter. “She always makes things worse. So what happened, Dahlia?”

“I overheard some guardsponies talking,” Dahlia reported. She sat down on one of the many chairs in the lobby and massaged her temple with a hoof. “There’s grave news.”

“What?” Golden Lily asked eagerly.

“The batpony patrol that was sent out to the badlands,” Dahlia told them. “They returned just as my shift was ending. Or at least what was left of them.”

Spirit Wave came out from the nearest massage room, carrying a stack of fresh towels. “What did you say?” She asked suspiciously.

“Apparently the sole survivor came back with a story that Chrysalis attacked the ponies that were sent out to the badlands and killed all but one of them,” Dahlia watched as the expression on her mistress’s face grew from incredulous to shocked and finally to fuming.

“Let me guess, the survivor must’ve said something like…” Lily put on a weird face and changed her voice. “The others were massacred, and I was the only one who made it back alive. I consider myself to be lucky. Did they say that?”

“I don’t think they were in any shape to be speaking,” Dahlia replied glumly. “But you know what this means, don’t you?”

An uncomfortable silence settled on the group of spa ponies.

“That... daft… wretched…!” Ruby Gleam mushed her hooves into her mane and messed it in anguish.

Spirit Wave stood there, the only thing moving was her chest as she took in deep breaths. “I told her…” she mumbled through gritted teeth. “I told her not to…”

She spun around and marched for her room, dropping the towels onto the floor in a heap. She stomped through the doorway and already had a scroll and a quill floating towards her.

“The next time I see her, I’ll wring her neck myself!” she fumed and sat herself down hard on the chair before placing the feather tip on her scroll. “If it weren’t for my loyalty to the queen, I’d have already done that years ago.”

Dear Chrysalis,
I kindly ask with all due respect.
HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?! I told you to lay low and specifically NOT to engage the ponies. They already have enough of a reason to hate our kind, and killing more of them IS NOT GOING TO HELP. Now you’ve given them an agenda and a greater motive to find and capture you more than ever. They’re not going to leave you alone now and they certainly will not leave us alone! Can you please, for once in your life, listen to me? I’m trying to save all of us here, but if you don’t listen, our kind will be doomed. Unfortunately, what’s done is done, even if what was done was inconceivably acted upon with a mind of deceased brain cells. Please, I am asking not just as your advisor, but as your sister, hide yourself and don’t make this any worse than it has to be.
Your sister and TACTICIAN,
Psithyra

Rolling up the scroll, Spirit Wave lit it with her horn and sent it away in a puff of magic. She stood there in the middle of her room, her breath coming out in warm pants and her fangs bared. This was not going to be easily fixed, she knew. There had been no fatalities in the actual invasion itself, so there had still been a chance at salvaging something from the whole misbegotten plot. But now…

Ponies were anything but forgiving. They would remember this and they would be out for blood. Changeling blood. Somepony would have to pay for the deaths of those guards, even if they lacked skill in combat, even if they thought they could be a match for the queen of changelingkind.

“As if life could get any harder now…” Spirit Wave put a hoof to her forehead and closed her eyes. “What’s next? Chrysalis blowing up half of Canterlot?”

Spirit Wave stopped herself. She didn’t want her words coming true, though she wouldn’t be surprised at this point if her sister were to try something as ludicrous as that.

“No, no. There’s nothing I can do now,” Spirit Wave mumbled to herself irritably. “Except wait.”

She hated waiting.

She dreaded the thought of her sister doing something equally if not more ludicrous than the last. Her letters since the wedding had proven that things could still progress far below her expectations.

“If she could have just followed the plan, we might have Canterlot by now…”

Not, she thought with grim satisfaction, that she didn’t already own it. But controlling the city from the shadows using subterfuge and coercion just didn’t compare to actually stepping in and subjugating everypony. She could see the appeal, yes, but things had to be done properly.

Spirit Wave waited until her breathing and heart rate returned to normal before leaving her room. The rest of her staff had finished cleaning up the spa for the day and were loosely assembled in the foyer, waiting for their mistress.

“Shall I get cooking, then?” Ruby Gleam said once her boss was fully in the foyer. “Or are we going out to eat?”

“I think we shall remain here for now,” Spirit Wave instructed. “I am awaiting a reply from my esteemed sister, and I need to have a pen and parchment ready for a reply.”

Ruby bowed her head. “Of course, mistress.”

The rest of the staff went to get changed out of their work uniforms and to wash up for dinner. Aeon passed by Spirit Wave and said, “I'll catalogue today’s findings,” he paused, as if bracing himself. “I hope your sister listens to you.”

“I hope so too…” Spirit Wave shook her head in disgust. “It’s as though she’s just doing the opposite of everything I say. I mean, what’s the point of having an advisor if you’re never going to listen to her? My suggestions and plans are for the good of all changelingkind, and for some reason, she just refuses to see that. I really don’t get her sometimes…”

“Truthfully, mistress, I don’t think any of us do.” Aeon picked up his clipboard and a quill. “But I suppose we can only hope at this point.”

Aeon bowed to Spirit and trotted off into the building to file away the day’s discoveries. His mistress stood there in silence for a moment before going downstairs to help with cooking.

The rest of the evening passed without any letters arriving. Dinner was a solemn affair, with nothing but the sound of cutlery scraping on plates and the diners chewing their food. Even Golden Lily, who usually enjoyed commenting on the taste of food, was silent.

It seemed everypony was brooding over the fact that things might just get worse from here. Might was a very strange word. It implied that things would go badly, but at the same time, there was that tiny sliver of hope that it would not. But it was so tiny there was almost no point in looking for it. Almost.

And that was what Spirit Wave was thinking of as she sat there, her food mostly untouched. She willed for her sister to listen, to keep down and to just stay out of trouble for once. Over the millenia, they had never been hunted this intently. Never, even after all of Chrysalis’ mess ups. This by far, has been the worst experience, and Spirit Wave herself had gotten so used to living a normal life right under the snouts of their enemies that she had forgotten what living on the edge had felt like.

Just thinking about it made her stomach sour and she felt like rushing to the bathroom to clear that up.

Spirit Wave ate a few more mouthfuls of food, then decided to call it a day. Bidding everyone else goodnight, she retired to her room, leaving everyone else at the dinner table.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this,” Snowy Skies said quietly after a few minutes. “Queen Chrysalis really should listen to her sister.”

“We know,” Aeon said tiredly. “If she had, we might be in a very different position right now.”

“You mean sitting on the throne of Canterlot?” Golden Lily sighed. “We had one shot. I don’t think we’ll be able to pull something like this off again. Canterlot’ll be on high alert for us after this.” Lily spooned some greens into her mouth and closed her eyes. “Dahlia, what’s the general mood in the castle recently?”

“They’re all agitated.” The maid put another spoonful in her mouth. “They want blood. And you can only imagine what they would do now.”

“Ah great,” Ruby Gleam clapped both her front hooves to her face. “We’re really in it this time, aren’t we?”

“More than ever.” Aeon rested his head on one hoof. “All we have now is hope and the queen.”

“That’s not saying much.” Ruby snorted. “Especially on that second point. I think we should just get ready to move. You never know when they’ll come knocking again.”

“Moving right now would be suspicious,” Silent Moon pointed out. “Ponies are just getting used to things returning to normal around here. If this spa suddenly vanishes, there will be questions. Not to mention all the stuff we have stored in the caves can’t exactly be moved under the eyes of the ponies.”

The table was silent for a while.

Finally Ruby Gleam spoke up. “I know I’m not the only one thinking it. Why doesn’t our princess take the throne, or start a new hive? It would probably be more prosperous and successful than what we’ve currently got.”

Nopony said anything at first.

Then Aeon said coldly, “That is borderline treason, and you know it, Ruby. Our mistress cannot and will not take the throne for reasons we all know well.”

“I’m just saying. She would make for a much better queen than that stuck up, good for nothing, incredible brute of a brain dead carcass.” Ruby shrugged. “We would certainly be living better lives. Hay, we would even have Canterlot!”

Dahlia and Aeon looked at Ruby frostily, while the rest of the table grew even more still. “We all swore to be loyal to the hive and the queen. Nothing can change that.”

“Queen Chrysalis may not be the perfect, ideal ruler,” Dahlia continued. “But she is what we have, so we may as well deal with it. Calling her names isn’t going to help.”

“It does help, so you two know.” Ruby folded her hooves. “I feel a lot better now. And we already do so much for the good of the hive, and here we are. I can’t imagine what it’s like for the regular drone, always having to do Chrysalis’ bidding. I pity future squelchlings being born under her. They don’t yet know what they’ll be getting into.”

Nobody seemed to have anything more to say, either due to fear of being rebuffed by Aeon and Dahlia, or because they secretly agreed with Ruby. Better for it to remain a mystery. After putting the dirty plates into the sink, the six spa ponies went back to their rooms for the night, all of them silently dreading what would come of the newest development.

The sun dawned the next morning without the barest hint of a letter. Psithrya made a note of this and a small pit formed in her stomach that she was sure wasn’t from hunger. She knew her sister well, and she would’ve likely, but unfortunately, ignored all her valid argument points and would’ve gone straight to crafting a horrid response in the form of insults. And when there was nothing she could come up with because all of Psithyra’s points were valid, she usually just left it, and that was what bothered her this moment.

The last thing she needed was for her sister to ignore her now.

“Good morning, mistress,” Silent Moon greeted as Spirit Wave left her room. “Dahlia went to work early today to see what the ponies will do next.”

“That’s nice of her to do,” Spirit Wave said, taken slightly by surprise at Dahlia’s initiative. That was what they needed right now: everypony working for the good of the hive. It was unfortunate her sister didn’t seem to understand that.

“We’ve got two appointments scheduled today,” Aeon came into the foyer, clipboard in hoof. “Not counting any surprise guests we might get through the rest of the day.”

“At least it helps take our mind off the situation…” Snowy dipped a hoof in the pond. “Things used to be good. Sometimes I just wish I could drift through the pond and go back in time.”

“Yes, well…” Aeon sighed, but otherwise did not seem at all bothered. “We open in an hour. I suggest we all get freshened up for today’s shift.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ruby said, emerging from a side door, fixing her name tag. “Another day, another new batch of secrets and shames to add to our collection, hey?”

“Oh, yes indeed,” Ruby’s mistress seemed a little more upbeat today. “Not to mention our spa has a reputation to uphold. We can’t let our title as one of the most prestigious massage parlors in Canterlot slip, now can we?”

“No, we cannot,” Snowy Skies agreed. “I’ll just go see if the bar has enough ice. Nothing like a cold, stiff drink after a nice massage session.” She trotted off to the room that contained all of the spa’s alcohol.

The day passed about as normally as Spirit Wave could expect. She did a little work as Harpsy Chord, playing her harp to relax the guests who stopped by to relax, and managed to suss out a few pearls of gossip for the stash. By closing time, everypony was feeling rather more chipper than the previous day.

“Well done, everypony,” Spirit Wave told her employees as they began to clean up. “I think we’re well onto getting back on track, as far as service goes. What should we do for dinner?”

“I don’t mind cooking,” Ruby Gleam offered as she and Golden Lily hoof-bumped. “I think we still have some protein left in the fridge.”

“Sounds good.”

As Ruby went off to the kitchen to start cooking, the doors to the spa swung open. Dahlia had let herself in, and she looked pale and slightly ill, even while disguised as a pony.

Still looking stricken, Dahlia sat down in the lobby, breathing shallowly.

“Dahlia?” Aeon asked quietly, coming over. Snowy Skies handed Dahlia a glass of water. “What’s wrong? Did something happen at the castle?”

Spirit Wave felt a familiar pit begin to form in her gut. Changeling intuition was never wrong, and something deathly awful must have happened if the unshakeable Dahlia was in such bad shape.

“What do you have to report?” Spirit Wave asked, looking Dahlia in the eyes. “Tell me.”

The castle maid gulped another breath of air and said in a trembling voice, “It’s Queen Chrysalis, mistress. She… she’s been captured.”

Chapter 9 - A Unanimous Decision

“My ears have never heard such news!” Ruby Gleam grabbed at her cheeks with her hooves. “We’re going to need drinks. Come on, Snowy,” She bolted off to the bar of the spa. “This is cause for celebration!”

“Umm, I’m uh, not so sure…” Snowy Skies floated along behind her, rubbing at one knee. “The queen got captured.”

“We should have known something like this would happen…” Golden Lily sighed. “What are we going to do, mistress?” She asked Spirit Wave.

Spirit Wave, for her part, marched over to the spa doors and drew the curtains shut. Then she jerked her head towards the living chambers. “Everyone down here. I need to know all the details.”

The six other spa ponies wordlessly put away what they were doing and followed their mistress downstairs. After locking the doors, they took their seats around the dinner table and dropped their disguises, with the exception of Dahlia.

“Now, tell us everything,” Psithyra instructed.

“Here,” Mava slid Dahlia a glass of cold cider.

Dahlia nodded her thanks to Mava and took a sip of the drink.

“Well, I first found out when a messenger came to see one of the captains,” Dahlia began to explain. “I was dusting outside his office at the time and I overheard them talking.”

“Oh, here we go…” Salegg sighed and reached for the bottle of cider, only for Azal to swat her on the hoof and shake his head disapprovingly. Salegg rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Dahlia.

Dahlia continued. “The messenger was telling the captain about how a platoon of guards had gone out to the badlands and secured the changeling queen. I immediately knew this was not good news and went down to the dungeons to see if it was true. I saw the cell that Queen Chrysalis is being kept in. There’s no mistake. The ponies have her.”

“Did you try to communicate with the queen?” Khama asked.

Dahlia shook her head. “I didn’t want to risk blowing my cover. Besides, castle maids are rarely allowed down in the dungeons anyway. It would have been suspicious if I had gone any closer.”

Psithyra sat in silence for a good three minutes.

“I suppose it isn’t any good sending any more letters, then. Those cells down there are bound. No magic can get in or out of them.”

“What are we going to do, your highness?” Hafet asked, looking uncomfortable. “We can’t just leave Queen Chrysalis in there.”

“No, we can’t,” Psithyra agreed. “I know her; she will do anything to get out of there. Including trading us in for leniency.”

At this, there was an outburst of disbelief and outrage from most of the table’s occupants.

“She wouldn’t!” Mava exclaimed angrily.

“She totally would,” Salegg told Mava snidely. “If she hasn’t already.”

Azal rubbed his face with a hole-riddled hoof. “We are in quite a lot of trouble. Princess, what should we do?”

Psithyra stared at the table, as if she were trying to set it on fire through force of will alone. The other six changelings waited quietly for her to say something, while Salegg quietly stole the cider bottle.

Finally Psithyra looked up. There was a steely expression on her face. “We have only one choice here, if we are to get out of this situation with all of our assets intact.”

“And what is that?” Hafet asked with bated breath.

“We are going to have to rescue Queen Chrysalis.”

Salegg slammed the cider bottle onto the table, spilling some of its contents.

“You can’t be serious!”

“I am very serious, Salegg,” Psithyra said coldly. “And to do it, I will need all of your help. Will you stand by me as I undertake this supremely important task?”

“Yes, princess!” Azal stood up and saluted.

“Yes, princess,” Dahlia affirmed.

“I will follow you anywhere, do anything,” Mava said. “I’m with you.”

“Me too!” Said Hafet. “Queen Chrysalis might not be my ideal leader, but she’s still the queen.”

“Agreed,” Khama brushed a lock of her mane from in front of her face. “I will do whatever is asked of me, princess.”

Everyone looked at Salegg. She groaned and threw the now-empty bottle into the trash.

“Fine. I’ll help too, but after we break her out, princess, please tell Queen Chrysalis that she’s a bonehead.”

“I think I can manage that,” Psithyra stood up and pushed her chair back in. “Now, here’s what I need you to do. Our time window of opportunity is small, so I need it all done with all speed and discretion. Feel free to use any of the blackmail that we have stored in the caverns. We have to get Chrysalis out before she has a chance to tell the ponies where we are.”

“I feel like we’re going to regret this. Big time…” Salegg groaned, but followed along. “Whatever happens, know that I had stood against this plan.”

An hour later, a nondescript brown pegasus flew down from the Canterlot weather station back towards the Metamorphosis, holding a small cloth bag between her teeth. She made sure nopony was watching before slipping into the back door.

Once inside, the pegasus was engulfed in green flames, revealing Mava. She hurried down to the room that had the secret passage to the caves and soon found herself meeting with the other members of the spa staff, gathered around a medium sized cauldron.

“I’ve got it!” Mava levitated the bag out and opened it. Inside was a glass bottle that was filled with a swirling multicolored liquid. “One bottle of rainbow’s glow, just as requested.”

“Thank you, Mava,” Psithyra said, taking the bottle and pouring it into the cauldron, “We’ll add that to the bits of cloud that Hafet got earlier. Now, all we need is… this,” The changeling princess pulled out a pegasus feather that one of the spa guests had dropped earlier that day. She stuck the feather into the cauldron and began to stir the contents. The ingredients came together smoothly, turning a bright pink and emitting heart-shaped bubbles.

“Perfect,” Psithyra crooned. “Azal, do you have the knives?”

Azal came forward with four bandoliers of short, stubby knives in his telekinetic grip. Each one was made of discarded chitin and therefore could be smuggled through any metal detecting spell fields. Without a word he began dipping each knife into the cauldron’s contents.

“I haven’t got around to fixing my battle armor yet,” Psithyra opened the crate which she had stored the armor in and looked in at the dented set inside. “But this is too heavy and noisy for this kind of work, in any case. I’ll be wearing my scouting set instead.”

Nahara dutifully brought out a lighter, more streamlined set of armor for her princess. This set was also made of hardened chitin which had been specially treated and prepared so that it was harder than steel. The hooves had claws on them for gripping onto walls and for scratching at opponents to peel off their own armor or to cause minor damage.

Psithyra stood still while Nahara began to put the armor onto her body. Once the whole set was strapped on, Psithyra went through a series of stretches and mobility tests to make sure she could move in it.

“Your swords, princess.” Khama came forward holding the pair of orichalcum blades, their edges jagged and scalloped like a changeling’s body. The weapons were sheathed and secured onto Psithyra’s flanks. The princess nodded her thanks to Khama.

“The knives are done,” Azal announced, bringing the bandoliers forth. Each one held ten knives, and Azal attached each set to one of Psithyra’s upper limbs, where they protruded like a line of spines. Azal looked at his princess with concern on his face. “Are you sure you have to do this alone?”

“I’m sure,” Psithyra told him. “The more changelings go, the more chance we have of getting caught. Besides, I’ve a task for the six of you to complete while I am gone, should things go horribly wrong.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” Azal said firmly. “We all believe in you. We all love you.”

“I know,” Psithyra said softly. “Which is why I am trusting you to stay here and wait for me. If I’m not back within three days, I want you and the others to take all the blackmail and secrets that we’ve gathered over the years to the newspapers and have it printed. If they won’t print, then just do what you must to make sure it all gets distributed to the hooves of the general public.”

“But princess, that would cause untold chaos and madness in the city,” Azal pointed out. “I’m not sure Canterlot would survive.”

Psithyra’s face grew into a grim smile. “I’m counting on it. This is my city, and if I must go down, then I am taking everypony with me.”

“I like the way you think,” Salegg snickered. “Now if only the queen had any shred of intelligence like you do.”

“Please try to tone down the criticism once I get her out,” Psithyra chided. “She is, after all, the most important creature in our society.”

Going through with the final checkups, Psithyra was surprised to see that all six of her subordinates had gathered before her standing in a row.

“Princess,” Azal announced. “If you’re really going to be venturing into enemy territory on your own, we want you to have the best possible chance of success. Having said so,” Azal took a deep breath. “We would like you to take some of our energy with you.”

Psithyra was taken aback, despite herself. “You’re giving me your love energy? Is that even possible?”

“No,” Azal shook his head. “You’re going to take it. Bring our strength with you on this most important mission. So you won’t be alone.”

The other five changeling infiltrators fixed Psithyra in their eyes, and the princess could see the unwavering loyalty and dedication to her. They might not like Queen Chrysalis as much as they should, but they believed in their princess and were willing to support her with their own bodily strength.

“Thank you, all of you,” Psithyra said, feeling humbled by the gesture.

She raised her head and lit up her horn, feeling the threads of energy laced throughout the area. She focused on the six major reservoirs before her, the infiltrators. Ribbons of green light lashed out and wrapped around the horns of each of Psithyra’s subordinates, drawing the love from them and feeding her own stores. Such a process was said to be somewhat painful, but there was not a single wince or flinch from the infiltrators as Psithyra drained them of their power.

Eventually she stopped, ending the spell once she felt she had taken all she could from them. Psithyra stood tall in her armor, positively glowing with energy.

Now she was ready.

“Dahlia,” Psithyra said. “Is the entrance to the caverns just outside Canterlot castle still open?”

Nahara shifted into Dahlia. “I believe so. It’s still being investigated by the royal guard, though. You may run into resistance if you use that route.”

“Still safer than charging in through the front doors,” Hafet commented.

Psithyra knew the route to take to get from the cavern pocket under the spa to reach Canterlot castle. It didn’t matter that there might be guards still present; nothing was going to stop her from getting Chrysalis out.

“That’s all I need to know,” Psithyra closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her wings buzzed into motion and she lifted off the ground. “Remember, if you don’t hear from me in three days…”

“We know what must be done,” Azal saluted, and the other infiltrators followed his example. “Good luck, princess.”

Wasting no more time or words, Psithyra launched herself off into the caverns. Her internal compass told her exactly where to go, following the faint eddies of wind that blew from the openings to the crystal caves. It would be a short flight to reach the entrance that led to Canterlot castle, and she spent the journey plotting out her plan of ingress and egress. Doubtless Chrysalis would be looking for a way out, and Psithyra could not risk her sister compromising the safety she had built for herself and her subordinates. There was still an ongoing investigation about Princess Cadance’s abduction, she knew. There might be a higher than normal amount of guards to deal with.

Psithyra glanced back at her swords. So long had it been since they had drawn pony blood, and she had to admit she missed wielding them. The blades could cut through enchantments, much like her elder sister’s throne back in the main hive, leaving only changeling magic functional. Psithyra hoped that they would not be needed, as a dead body was evidence, and the ponies did not need another excuse to hate changelingkind.

After almost fifteen minutes of flight, the smell of fresh air grew stronger and her ears picked up the faint sound of metal horseshoes on stone. Psithyra slowed her flight and carefully crept up behind a stone pillar. She then peered around the rocky column, surveying the area.

There was the opening, nary three hundred feet away. There were four Solar Guardsponies between her and her goal, all clad in their shiny golden armor. One was standing at the mouth of the cave, while the other three seemed to be combing the area for clues.

Psithyra fired up her horn with a spell and sneaked closer to the nearest guard, barely flying off the ground to mask her hoofsteps.

This was going to be interesting.

Chapter 10 - Infiltration and Exfiltration

The guard’s back was to Psithyra and she advanced on the hapless pony, her horn aglow with green energy. She lowered her head, ready to discharge the spell, when the guardspony glanced at a reflective piece of crystal. His eyes widened as he saw the outline of Psithyra behind him and he opened his mouth to cry out.

Zap!

Psithyra’s spell hit him full in the back of the head and he slumped onto the ground, unconscious. Psithyra had learned the stunning spell from a unicorn who dealt in dangerous animals, and she was thankful that she had taken the time to seduce him and learn this magic.

With a few deft motions, the guard was enveloped in a sticky green cocoon out of sight, wedged inside a narrow fissure where no creature would think to look. Swiping the guard’s pass and badge, Psithyra morphed into his likeness and stepped out into the open.

Another Solar Guard was coming over.

“Hey, Stern Spear,” He said. “What was that noise?”

Psithyra shrugged, acting embarrassed. “I just tripped over a rock. Dark in here, isn’t it, sergeant?” She glanced at the stripes on the other guardspony’s armor to see his rank.

The sergeant grunted and nodded. “Well, try to watch where you’re going in the future. I almost thought you’d been attacked or something.”

“Yessir, sergeant,” Psithyra saluted. She waited until the other pony had gone before making her way up towards the exit of the caves.

The pony standing watch up here was a private, and he certainly looked like a rookie. Smelled and tasted like one, too.

“I’m heading topside,” Psithyra told him gruffly. She presented her stolen pass and the private checked it carefully. “Not much down here except dust and rocks.”

“Oh, yes,” the private bobbed his head up and down, eager to please. “Everything seems in order. Go on ahead, sir.”

“Thank you, private,” Psithyra pocketed the pass and trotted up into the light. She knew that this particular exit opened up in a corner of the castle grounds, hence why Princess Cadance and Twilight Sparkle had managed to get to the wedding so quickly after leaving the caves. She kept on walking in the firm, practiced manner of a castle guard, making sure to give nothing away that she was not what she appeared to be. Of course, she was a changeling and one of the best to boot, so that part was very easy.

Upon exiting the cave, Psithyra was only mildly surprised to see that there were more guards up here. Two pegasi and two earth ponies, none of which were looking in Psithyra’s direction at the moment. The changeling princess took this opportunity to march past them, letting the light catch onto her Solar Guard armor so that it was obvious who was passing.

She knew the layout of the castle from when she and Chrysalis had begun planning to swap out Princess Cadance with the queen. Psithyra passed by another security check at the castle doors, which went by without incident. However, the increasing number of Solar and Lunar Guards began to worry the changeling princess. Getting in was the easy part. Getting out might be more difficult, especially if her sister had been in a bound cell overnight.

‘Stern Spear’ walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, while underneath his face, Psithyra was sniffing around for the scent of her queen. Both her memory and nose pointed her southwest, past the throne room.

Just as she was passing the great double doors, they swung open without warning. Instinctively, Psithyra stood at attention and saluted as Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle came trotting out, laughing about something.

“…You don’t say?” Twilight patted her brother on the back and sighed. “Sounds like you had yourselves a great honeymoon. Are you ready to get back to work?”

“Definitely,” Shining Armor nodded, his face turning serious. “Tomorrow, I’m going to go question the changeling queen. It’s a good thing we managed to capture her; I just wish it hadn’t cost the recon team so much to get to this point.”

“We’ll just add that to the list of things she needs to answer for,” Cadance said firmly. “On top of everything else, like abducting me. My memories are still kind of hazy about that. Maybe it’s for the best that I don’t remember.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright,” Twilight nuzzled the princess of love tenderly. “And it’s good to see that security has been ramped up around the castle, too!”

Twilight gestured to the disguised Psithyra, who threw Shining Armor a crisp salute.

“Anything to report?” Shining Armor asked with a smile.

“All’s well in the castle, sir!” Psithyra told him. “We’re making good progress in the caves as well.”

“Excellent,” Shining Armor nodded his approval. “I’m sure that there are clues in those caves which will be of great help to improving our security against future possible invasions. Just because Equestria is a peaceful nation doesn’t mean that we don’t have enemies.”

“That’s why we’re lucky to have you as Captain of the Guard, sir!” Psithyra said loudly.

Shining Armor looked between a mixture of proud and mollified. “Yeah, well, we all do our part to protect the land. A good captain isn’t anything without the ponies who serve with him.”

“Thank you, sir!” Psithyra replied.

She stayed rooted to the spot until the three ponies headed off to the east wing of the castle. Only once they were out of sight did Psithyra exhale and look around. That had been far too close for comfort; she hadn’t been expecting to run into those three of all ponies.

Back to the mission at hoof…

Walking just a little bit faster now, Psithyra soon found herself closing in on the door to the dungeons. An odd choice to have dungeons when there were very rarely any creatures to fill them, but Psithyra decided not to dwell on that. Instead she stared ahead at the two Solar Guards who were standing watch outside the dungeon entrance.

"Good afternoon, gentlestallions," Psithyra said in Stern Spear's voice as she walked up to them. "I'll need to be heading down into the holding area for a bit."

"Why?" The guard on the left asked.

"To check on the prisoner," Psithyra continued confidently. "Make sure she hasn't escaped or anything."

"The jailer is down there," the guard on the right pointed out. "If anything happened, he would let us know."

Psithyra frowned inwardly. "Yes, but I have orders from Captain Armor himself. He wants to interrogate the changeling queen tomorrow and he sent me to make sure she is fit for questioning."

"Well, that's different then," the guard on the left took out his key and unlocked the door. "You're set to go in. Oh, and watch yourself around the changeling queen. She's a tricky one."

"Noted," Psithyra nodded and entered the dungeons.

The stairs were long and winding, lit with torches and flameless lanterns. Psithyra could make out the bulky outline of the jailer at the bottom of the steps, seated behind a large desk. He was a towering earth pony stallion and he had a lance at his side.

More importantly, Psithyra could smell the familiar scent of her queen and older sister close by. The dungeons were lined with golden cages, each one enchanted to make sure magic could not get in or out.

Psithyra reached the bottom of the steps and the jailer loomed from the shadows to meet her.

"State your business," the jailer said in a tone that brooked no argument. He was taller than Psithyra was, even in her natural changeling princess form.

Still, it wasn’t like he could see what she really was. Psithyra stepped up.

"I'm here to check on the prisoner," she said again. "Captain Armor’s orders."

"Is that so?" The jailer grunted. "Let's see the writ, then."

"Writ?" Psithyra cursed inside her head. The lie had worked so well on the guards outside that she hadn't stopped to consider she might need proof. Her mind raced as she saw the jailer's frown deepen. "Ah, yes. The writ. Got it right here."

Psithyra made a show of reaching back at Stern Spear's saddlebags as if to get something from them. Then suddenly she unsheathed one of her blades and smashed the flat side of it into the jailer's face with all her might. There was a crash like a pair of cymbals as the sword knocked a serious dent into his helmet and the jailer fell to the ground unconscious. Psithyra promptly cuffed him so that he wouldn't get up, and after looting the keys from his body she affixed a gag of green slime around his mouth as well. And just to be sure, she hauled his form behind the desk.

"What is going on out there?" Queen Chrysalis's voice asked from a few cells down. "Don't tell me you tripped, you oaf. You ponies are useless even when it comes to walking."

Hurrying over to the cell in question, Psithyra sighed in relief as she saw her sister lying down inside. Chrysalis looked up grumpily.

"You know, I can't tell you ponies apart sometimes," Chrysalis droned, waving her hoof lazily in the air. "You all look the same. Humourless and boring."

Psithyra shook off her initial astonishment and pressed herself up against the bars. "Chrysalis. It's me, Psithyra. I've come to break you out."

This got the changeling queen's attention. She scrambled to her hooves. "Well, it's about time you did something right. Come on, open the door and get me out of here."

Psithyra levitated the keys out, but stopped short of slotting them into the keyhole.

“Let me ask you a question first,” Psithyra said. “Did you tell anypony about me and the others?”

“What?” Chrysalis growled. “Why are you wasting time with stupid questions? Get me out of here.”

“Did you tell anyone?” Psithyra insisted. “I need to know.”

“Oh, for the love of…” Chrysalis grumbled. “No, I didn’t tell anyone. You think I would give away information like that?”

“These days I don’t know what to think,” Psithyra sighed. She slid the key into the cell lock and the door swung open with a well-oiled click-clack. “Come on, we’re not out of the danger zone yet. We need to move. Can you change?”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and a flare of green fire ignited at her hooves, but died out just as quickly. She grimaced.

“It seems that staying in that cell has taken away what little magic I had left. I hope you’ve got a plan.”

Psithyra opened her mouth to respond, but at that very moment, there was a flicker of movement at the dungeon entrance. The door had swung open and there was a guard coming down.

“Hello?” He called into the dungeon. “We heard a noise, is everything okay?”

“Hide!” Psithyra shoved Chrysalis behind a pillar and transformed into the jailer.

“Turn Key, are you alright?” The guardspony asked as he walked up to Psithyra. “There was a loud noise, and it’s not that we don’t trust you, but in light of everything that’s happened recently, I thought I should check.”

“Everything is completely fine,” Psithyra replied stiffly as she glanced aside to make sure Chrysalis was completely hidden. “Get back to your post. I just dropped my weapon, that’s all. Clumsy of me.”

“Oh, alright,” The guard said and turned around to leave. Then he paused and looked about, craning his neck. “Where’s Stern Spear? I just let him down to check on the prisoner.”

Psithyra was about to say something, but a faint noise beat her to it. It came from behind the desk, where she had hidden the real Turn Key. He seemed to be straining against his restraints.

“What was that?” The guard asked suspiciously.

“Rats, I suspect,” Psithyra grunted, stepping in between the guard and the desk to hide it with her body. “I’ll deal with it.”

“There’s no rats down here,” The guard made to push past Psithyra. He narrowed his eyes and drew his sword halfway out of its scabbard. “Something’s not right here…”

There was no time to drop her disguise to use a stunning spell, so Psithyra took advantage of her new form’s muscle and bulk and simply bucked the guard into the wall. The guard’s armor saved him from the worst of the impact, but it was still enough force to send his eyes into spirals and daze him long enough for Psithyra to cuff his legs and sling him into the cell that had been occupied by Chrysalis until recently.

“We need to go. More of the ponies will come and investigate.”

“Once they realize I’m loose, they’ll lock down the whole castle,” Chrysalis pointed out, emerging from her hiding place. “Let alone two of us.”

This was true, Psithyra acknowledged. But a plan was already forming in her mind.

“They don’t know I’m here yet,” Psithyra began. “And I think we can take advantage of that.”

“What?” Chrysalis looked nonplussed.

Psithyra turned back into her native form, armor and all. “I need you to raise the alarm. Get every guard in the palace to come after you.”

“Wait, what?” The changeling queen gave her sister a prehistoric stare. “I thought the whole idea was to get me out of here quietly, not start a citywide witch hunt.”

Psithyra looked peeved. “Shut up and let me finish. I’m going to change into you, and you’re going to change into a guard. Take their pass and get out of the castle, back to the spa. My infiltrators will get you out of the city once the coast is clear. Meanwhile, I’ll draw the ponies’ attention away. You need to sound the alarm so that all of their eyes will be on me and not you. I’ve got the arms and armor to have a better chance at getting away if it comes to a fight. Got that?”

“Ah, one problem with that plan,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t have the energy to change. And as for you taking on my beautiful likeness, that’s bordering on sacrilege. There can only be one of me.”

“Do you have a better plan?” Chrysalis pursed her lips and scuffled her hoof on the ground. “No? Then do as I say or we’re both going to wind up in cells down here. You can drain some love from that jailer pony. He’s still tied up behind the desk. Hurry up.”

Still grumbling, Chrysalis went over to Turn Key and opened her maw wide, taking in a greenish wisp of fog. The jailer’s eyes rolled back in their sockets and he fell unconscious once again as Chrysalis sucked all the love out from his hapless body. Then she focused and changed into the guardspony who had come down to investigate, making sure to grab his pass and badge as well.

“Are you sure this will work?” Chrysalis asked Psithyra. “You’ll have almost the entire castle and royal guard on you. They won’t make it easy to get away.”

Psithyra said nothing, only changed herself into a perfect likeness of Chrysalis, holes and all.

“Alright then,” Chrysalis trotted up the steps. She looked back at her younger sister and felt an unfamiliar emotion in her chest. “Don’t die.”

“My queen, I am a changeling of many talents,” the disguised Psithyra replied. “But I’m afraid dying isn’t one of them. Now go!”

Chrysalis took in a deep breath and slammed the door open, startling the remaining guard on the other side. Sprinting out and shouting at the top of her disguised lungs, Chrysalis shouted and raved, “Prisoner escaping! Help! The changeling queen has escaped her cell! Heeeelp!”

Psithyra listened to the howling getting softer and knew it was time to make her move. If she was still down here in the dungeons when the main force arrived, she would be bottlenecked and trapped. Two guardponies appeared at the door, but with two swift shots from her horn, Psithyra downed them without any trouble. She stepped over their bodies and emerged out into the hallway, where she could hear the trampling of armored hooves.

Chrysalis had run off towards the left side. That meant that Psithyra’s path was to the right. She had to lure as many ponies away from her elder sister as she could, give her enough time to exit the castle and make it to the spa.

“There she is! Stop her!” Horseshoes thundered towards Psithyra as four more guards appeared, spears leveled at her.

Psithyra waited until they were almost on top of her before leaping clear over the guards and landing behind them, whipping her head around to blast them with a barrage of stunning spells. She would have preferred to hit them in the head or spine, as the magic worked more effectively that way, but in this case it didn’t really matter. That was the flaw with wearing metal armor; they conducted certain kinds of magic like her knockout spells and it didn’t make much of a difference where the spells landed, their golden armor would ensure that they felt the full effect of each shot.

So many stunning spells would normally take their toll on Psithyra’s energy reserves, but thanks to the extra strength that her infiltrators had given her, she was still running red hot.

Picking a path at random, Psithyra galloped along the corridors, leaping over surprised maids and skidding around corners. As she ran, she made sure to shoot more magic blasts from her horn at miscellaneous things like potted plants and tapestries. That way, it would be obvious which way she had gone and give the pursuing guards an easy breadcrumb trail to follow.

For a good five minutes she ran and ran, making sure to be just slow enough that the guards could still chase her, but just quick enough to stay a few dozen meters ahead.

A Lunar Guard emerged from a doorway and saw her coming, but before he could light up his own horn for a spell, Psithyra roundhouse kicked him in the face, sending him flying back into the room he had come from. Psithyra chanced a glance out the neared window and to her dismay, she beheld a pinkish-purple bubble forming around the castle. The ponies really did not want Queen Chrysalis leaving, but by Psithyra’s calculations, the real Queen Chrysalis was by now long gone. Which was good. What was not so good was that she herself was about to be trapped inside this magic field. Her blades could of course cut through it, but it would take a little bit of time. Time that Psithyra might not have to spare.

“Stop! Halt!” A stallion’s voice came from behind Psithyra. A little too close for comfort. She made a sharp left and ran up the spiral staircase that was there. The guards tried to follow, but once she was at the top Psithyra grabbed the carpet and pulled hard. The guards’ hooves slipped and they fell back down to the bottom in a heap of tangled legs and spears.

“You’ll have to do better than that!” Psithyra called out in Chrysalis’s voice. It was strange to hear that voice come from herself.

Is this what it’s like to be my big sister? Ew.

Deciding not to dwell on how unnatural it was to hear her own queen’s voice come out of her mouth, Psithyra kept on running.

There was an open window just up ahead. If she could just leap through it, she might have enough time to cut a hole into the containment spell and make good her escape.

But just as she was nearing the window, two pegasus guards flew through it, blocking her exit.

“Stop right there!” One of them barked.

“Not likely,” Psithyra muttered and took a hard left. As she made the turn, she glanced back and saw another group of guards closing in. There must have been a unicorn in there because a spell blasted over Psithyra’s head and scorched the wall with a black mark.

This hallway led to a pair of double doors that were locked with a heavy gold chain. Channeling her magic into a destructive ray, Psithyra shot the chain and it snapped, allowing her to barrel into the room beyond. She cursed under her breath.

This was a concert hall, with no windows and only one way in or out.

Psithyra turned to go back the way she had come, but the entrance was now crawling with what must have been half of the entire castle guard. Growling, she backed away from the door, her horn sparking with green energy that sizzled when they hit the floor.

“It’s over, Chrysalis!” One of the guardsponies announced. “There’s nowhere left to run. Surrender!”

Psithyra inhaled, then exhaled, calm and steeling herself for what was going to happen next.

Then she dropped her disguise. Her armor and weapons became visible, and her horn shone as she telekinetically took hold of the grips of her two swords and drew them from their sheaths with a sinister scraping sound.

“Wait, you’re not Chrysalis!” The guards gasped. “What is this? What’s going on?”

Psithyra took both her swords and joined them at the pommels with a click, forming a fearsome double bladed weapon. She spun it around herself, the twin blades lighting up with changeling magic that hissed like an overboiled pot on a stove. She settled into a fighting stance and pointed her weapon forward at the royal guards, a savage smile forming on her face.

“Come on then,” Psithyra beckoned with a smirk, her horn and eyes aglow like coals. “Let’s dance.”

Chapter 11 - No Way Out

With all the commotion that was happening at Canterlot Castle, very few ponies paid much attention to the lone guardspony dashing down the streets of Canterlot. Royal guards patrolled the streets every day and in many places, and anypony who might have given it a second thought was distracted by the sudden appearance of a magenta containment spell going up over the castle proper.

As such, nopony saw the guard slip into the back door of the Metamorphosis spa and massage parlour and shut it behind himself.

Once the lock clicked into place, Queen Chrysalis let her disguise dissolve into green fire, revealing her true self. She wiped a few droplets of sweat off her face.

“Ponies. Easily deceived, as usual.”

It was then that Chrysalis realized she was not alone. All six of her sister’s infiltrators were standing in front of her, some looking more enthused than others at her appearance. What were their names again, Chrysalis wondered internally.

“So. You’re here, your majesty,” the infiltrator with the red mane said, somehow managing to make the royal title sound like an insult. “Where is the princess?”

“Salegg…” The white-maned changeling warned. Chrysalis remembered his name was Azal, one of her sister’s seconds in command. The other one was the mute, Nahara.

“What?” Salegg shot back at Azal. “I want to know where the princess is. I’m allowed to ask, am I not?” She returned her glare to Chrysalis. “So where is she?”

“My sister,” Chrysalis said at last. “Opted to stay back and draw the ponies away so I could make my escape.”

“You mean, she’s still in the castle?” Hafet asked, her expression uncharacteristically serious. “With all those guards?” She then snickered. “I pity the guards.”

“She’s going to have to fight her way out…” Mava muttered. “Then it is just as well we gave her our strength. I only hope that none of the princesses get involved.”

Azal stepped forward. “In the meantime, we must make arrangements to smuggle Queen Chrysalis out of the city. We may have to wait a few days, seeing as we have instructions on what to do should our princess not return in three days. I hope that doesn’t inconvenience you, your majesty?”

Queen Chrysalis snorted. “So I have to lay low for three days. I can do that. What do you take me for, a rank amateur?”

It took all of Salegg’s self control not to respond to that last question. Instead she simply gritted her teeth and walked away, hoping that her princess would be able to return safely.

“Aarggh!”

This shout came from a guardspony’s throat as Psithyra slammed the side of her weapon into his helmeted head. The changeling princess’s blade glowed green, a testament to the powerful stunning spell she was channeling through it. Around her lay twelve other guards, lying senseless on the ground from her attacks. So far she had been able to avoid drawing any blood; a simple touch from her twinblade was more than enough to defeat her gold-armored foes.

Around her, dozens more guards circled, unsure of what to do. They had already backed out of striking distance, keeping their spears away as the metal shafts would also conduct her stunning spell. Every few seconds, another guard would break off from the group and attempt a charge, only to be knocked out cold.

Psithyra knew she couldn’t keep this up. Sooner or later they would either bring in some heavy-duty casters or she would run out of energy. The stunning spell she was continually channeling was taxing on a changeling’s love reserves, and although she was still going strong she wouldn’t last forever.

She was still trapped inside the concert hall, with no windows and only one way in or out. She windmilled her weapon, forming a blazing circle of green that forced the guards back a few steps. Immediately following this she launched a volley of spells from her horn, striking three more guards and sending them falling to the ground. This was followed by a trio of spears thrown at her, but Psithyra deftly took to the air and avoided them, not even watching as they stabbed into the wall behind her.

“That's the best you’ve got?” Psithyra asked with a steely grimace.

As if in response, a bolt of freezing ice magic arced her way and she was barely able to deflect it with her blade. The unicorns had arrived.

Through the doors to the concert hall, about a dozen unicorn guards scrambled inside, struggling to stay in formation. They saw the guards lying on the floor around Psithyra and opened fire with all manner of magical attacks, including stunning spells.

I can’t let them get in so much as one hit on me.

Psithyra blocked an incoming spell and did a backward loop in the air to dodge another two. The brilliant bolts of magic just barely missed her body, striking the wall behind her with a pair of shuddering impacts.

More guards began pouring in and some of them rolled in huge wooden devices. Psithyra had never seen them before, but one fired its projectile at her, forcing her to dive to one side to avoid it as it unfolded and smacked against the back wall.

“Netcasters…” she breathed. They fired faster than she had expected them to. Enchanted with shock magic, wouldn’t you know it.

Another net flew at her and entangled Psithyra’s hoof, but thankfully because her armor was made of hardened chitin and not metal, the electric shock didn’t conduct to the rest of her body. She simply sliced the net off and bucked another guard in the face who probably thought he was going to get a sneak attack. The crunch of her armored hooves impacting his helmet made the other guardsponies back off a few steps as they watched their colleague get flung into the wall, cracking the plaster.

It was only a matter of time before she was overwhelmed, Psithyra thought grimly. As good as she was, numbers would overcome even her skill and power. And if it came to that, she might actually have to fight to kill. The changeling princess’s gaze grew even more steely. She did not want to give the ponies another reason to despise her kind, but her own life took priority over all others, perhaps save her elder sister’s.

That left Psithyra with only one option. She would have to make a break for it, and she had the perfect weapon for that purpose.

As the ponies closed in around her, Psithyra closed her eyes and channeled another spell through her horn. This was the most tricky part of the move, as she would have to focus on more than forty individual objects at once with her telekinesis. She hoped that the surrounding enemies would give her the three seconds she needed to pull this off.

All at once, the sets of knives that she had dipped in the love poison earlier that were attached to all four of her limbs lit up, rattling in their holders before launching out like a swarm of fireworks, each one leaving a glowing green light trail as they flew. The sudden blast made the ponies falter and stop in their tracks for a moment, and that was all Psithyra needed to guide each and every knife into an exposed part of a guard. They wouldn’t cut very deep, as the knives were only sharp at the tips, but that would be enough to inject them with a dose of the love poison. Psithyra had obtained the recipe after hearing about its effects in a faraway town called Ponyville and what it had done to the ponies who were afflicted with its effects.

Psithyra watched as the guards who had been hit looked at their injuries curiously, some of them pulling the knives out of the shallow puncture wounds and tossing them onto the floor.

Then she felt it.

A massive surge of love filled the room as the guardsponies’ eyes turned into pink hearts. There was instant chaos as many of the ponies grabbed and tackled at each other in a ferocious display of lust and affection. It was utter pandemonium as the ponies who were not afflicted tried to return them to order, barking instructions and trying to hold their colleagues apart.

As for Psithyra, she felt love energy fill her up, almost overflowing from the raw, unbridled emotions of forty ponies. She grinned and charged up her horn, shooting a powerful concussive spell into the mass of writhing bodies. The ponies were launched aside, leaving a clear path open out of the room.

So she ran. Psithyra darted past the armored bodies and leapt over a prone guard who she had knocked out earlier. A net flew her way, but Psithyra shot it out of the air with a flick of her horn. This was a temporary high, Psithyra realized, like eating sugar to try and stay away. The love poison provided love, but it was artificial and she could already feel her inner stores of energy depleting the further she got from the concert hall.

But it was still enough for her to make a clean getaway. Looking over her shoulder, Psithyra saw nopony following her. There was still the matter of the magic barrier around the castle, but the changeling princess was confident her weapon could cut her way through it to freedom. So long as she didn’t run into any more guards, the mission would be a complete success and she would be sipping cider with her fellow infiltrators back at the spa in no time.

However, all thoughts of cider disappeared as she went down the stairs to the ground floor. Around the corner came a group of guardsponies that were covered in different armor than the ones upstairs; it looked more streamlined and custom made. It took her a moment to recognize it; it was the same armor worn by the guards who had searched her spa a few days before. Eclipse Guards, trained personally by Captain Shining Armor himself.

“Ah, piss,” Psithyra swiftly took off at a full sprint in the opposite direction as the Eclipse Guards caught sight of her and gave chase.

“Halt! In the name of Princess Luna you are to stop right there, changeling scum!” a female voice rang out behind her, the accent foreign to Canterlot.

Psithyra didn’t have time to care about pony accents and kept going, not looking back once. Only a few seconds too late did she realize that not looking back might’ve been a mistake. Two sharp stabs of pain flared out around her flank and she buzzed her wings before taking to the air, looking back to see two knives sticking out of her skin, just under one plate of armor. Whomever had done that had very good aim. Almost too good.

Psithyra knew this part of the castle that she was running into. She was leaving a nice trail of green blood, thanks to the knives. No matter how fast she flew now, they could just follow the blood. She could always transform to heal the injuries, but Psithyra knew better than to do that. Better for them to think she was cornered, and she would need every ounce of strength for her next maneuver.

Psithyra slammed open a door, entering the empty room. She threw the door closed and barricaded it with all the furniture she could find. This was a last-ditch move to shake them off, but it would take nearly all her energy.

Psithyra closed her eyes and lit up her horn. Teleportation was an advanced magic, and normally it took her and all her infiltrators to do it in order to offset the energy usage, but there wasn’t much of a choice this time.

The changeling princess pictured the front gates of the castle, just inside the portcullis and drawbridge. She guessed that the magical barrier would be beyond that area, so she would simply cut a hole after teleporting there and losing her pursuers.

There was the banging of hooves on the door, and Psithyra struggled to maintain concentration for the spell. Around her, a green circle lit up like a ring of viridian flames. A bead of sweat ran down her face. Only a few seconds more…

A hoof burst through the wooden door, showering the floor with splinters.

“Step aside!” A voice said outside.

A blast of magic blew the door apart, and the guards closed in with their weapons just as Psithyra vanished in a flash of green light and a flare of fire that left a burning circle in the carpet.

Psithyra reappeared just outside the inner gatehouse for the entryway of Canterlot Castle. Just as she had predicted, the magenta magical bubble extended beyond this point. Brandishing her twinblade, she walked towards the exit. She was exhausted from the teleport, but at least it was all clear here. Once she was outside, all she would have to do was find some hapless civilian and drain them for love, then get back to the spa in disguise.

Just a few dozen more meters and she would be free.

“Stop!”

Psithyra’s teeth clenched. The shout had come from behind her. A light tan-colored royal guard stood there, sword drawn and wings flared.

“Oh, for the love of…” Psithyra groaned. She could barely hold on to her twinblade with her magic, and this pony wanted to challenge her?

“You’re under arrest, changeling!” The guard said, coming closer.

Psithyra didn’t have time for this. She simply shot a weak stunning spell at him that missed and turned around to run for the drawbridge. She might be tired, but her legs were longer and she was confident she could outrun him.

However, she heard and saw something alarming as she closed in on her destination. The portcullis was rattling as it came down, attempting to block her exfiltration. She turned her head to look back, and saw the guardspony inside the gatehouse. There must be a lever or switch to lower the portcullis in there.

With the last of her magical energy, Psithyra did the only thing she could: she took aim and launched her twinblade into the gears that were lowering the barrier. The weapon flew true, embedding themselves in the mechanism with a loud grinding sound. The portcullis ground to a halt, leaving about a foot and a half of space between the teeth and the floor.

With her muscles burning from the strain, Psithyra made a last desperate rush for freedom. She slid under the portcullis, and had just cleared it when a stunning spell hit her in the back of the head.

Psithyra rolled to a stop, landing in a crumpled heap as her legs gave out. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was the voice of Shining Armor.

“Good work slowing her down, Frigid Night. Now the rest of you, secure the changeling and take her down to the holding cells.”

Chrysalis… Psithyra thought as the waking world slipped away. I hope you’re safe.

Chapter 12 - Pony Accommodations

Psithyra’s eyes cracked open, which she instantly regretted. She felt weak and hungry, and the light that was hitting her eyes didn’t do much to alleviate the feeling. She lay still, taking stock of her surroundings. A few moments of observation, she knew, could spell the difference between success and failure.

She was lying down on a sort of thin mattress. It smelled like it was stuffed with hay. So she wasn’t back at the spa, then. This only left one other possibility. She had been caught.

Psithyra did not panic. She knew the layout of these cells, and there was no chance of her being able to break out without some outside assistance, and none was coming. She could, however, wait for three days. If she was to die in here, Canterlot would die with her. A small smirk flitted over her face as she sat up.

Now this was a familiar sight. She was back in the dungeons, where she had freed Chrysalis from… how long ago had that been? There was nopony at the warden’s desk, and she had no inclination to waste her energy shouting for one.

Instead she leaned back and inspected herself and her surroundings. Her armor had been removed, along with the empty bandoliers of knives. The wounds she had received from the Eclipse guards had been bandaged up with clean strips of white linen.

Psithyra pushed herself off the cot and examined the inside of the cell. It was roughly cube-shaped with a barred door, and solid metal all around everywhere else. There was a slot where she assumed food would be pushed in, but otherwise it was unremarkable. The only unusual aspect was that the entire cell was bound, and no magic could be cast inside, including her native changeling magic.

After this cursory examination, Psithyra went back to sitting on the bed, thinking. She had no idea what time it was, but judging by the amount of pain that was coming from under her bandages, not a lot of time had elapsed from when she had been detained to now. Changeling wounds were quick to heal, so the fact that she was still sore must mean that not one day had elapsed. Probably not even twelve hours.

As Psithyra sat there considering her current situation, she heard the door to the dungeons open and the noise of hoofsteps approaching.

Two guardsponies came into view. One of them she recognized as the one who had tried to stop her by lowering the castle’s portcullis. The other one was an Eclipse guard, from the solar division.

They stopped in front of Psithyra’s cell. The changeling princess did not move, staring dispassionately at the ponies as if they were an interesting painting in a museum.

“So, you’re awake, are you?” The Eclipse guard asked.

Psithyra said nothing, but gave a little roll of her eyes as if to say ‘obviously’.

If the Eclipse guard was annoyed, he didn’t show it. “Do you know where you are?” He pressed.

Psithyra was silent.

“You’re in the Canterlot Castle holding cells,” The Eclipse guard told her. “Don’t think of trying to escape, because you can’t.”

Psithyra held up one hoof and rolled it around, as if to say ‘Get on with it’.

“Not very talkative, are you?”

The look that Psithyra gave him could not have been any more plain.

“Well, fine, be that way,” the Eclipse guard shrugged. “Captain Frigid Night, I’m placing you in charge of watching this prisoner. Make sure she doesn’t do anything shady.”

“Yes, sir,” Frigid Night saluted. “You can count on me.”

The Eclipse guard nodded and left the dungeon. Psithyra sniffed and adjusted her position to be more comfortable. Meanwhile, Frigid went to the desk that the jailer had been occupying and sat behind it. The changeling princess noticed that her suit of armor had been placed on top of the table, though her twinblade was missing.

“You’ve caused quite a lot of trouble for us,” Frigid said as he settled in behind the desk. “I don’t suppose I can get your name for the record?”

Psithyra glared at him and turned up her nose, in a clear display of disdain and defiance. Frigid didn’t seem disappointed. He picked up Psithyra’s helmet and gave it a careful look.

“You know, if you cooperate with us, you’ll probably get a lighter sentence,” he continued. “You’re quite big for a changeling. Not like the ones we saw at the royal wedding at all.”

Psithyra refused to speak. If this pony wanted to waste his breath trying to start a conversation with her, she was more than happy to let him. However, inside Psithyra was brimming with cold satisfaction, knowing that in three days, all the city was going to come crashing down around the ponies’ ears once all the blackmail and scandal reports were made public. All she had to do was wait.

And she was a very patient changeling. One would have to be if they had to deal with someone like Chrysalis on a regular basis.

Besides, this pony didn’t merit any words from her anyway. He was but a lowly guard, she was a princess. And he wasn’t even a changeling. Talking to him in this situation was unthinkable.

So Psithyra sat there in her cell in stony silence, with only the sound of her breathing to shake the quiet. She could feel the eyes of Frigid Night on her, but she didn’t really care. In three days the city would be consumed by a calamitous frenzy, and there wasn’t anything the ponies could do about it. Perhaps she might even be able to take advantage of all the chaos and escape herself.

Speaking of escaping, she wondered where Chrysalis was now. She hoped that the queen had made it back to the spa and was now safe. Surely if the ponies had recaptured her, they would give it away somehow. The fact that they were so grim and quiet about everything must mean that Chrysalis had gotten clean away. At least she had achieved that.

Frigid Night took out a stack of papers from inside his desk and began looking over them, occasionally glancing up to look at Psithyra, who stayed seated on the bed. There were no more attempts at conversation, as Frigid seemed to understand that she wasn’t going to talk to him.

After an indeterminable amount of time, Psithyra heard the sound of the doors to the dungeons open again. This time it sounded like a whole parade of ponies was coming down, judging by the thundering of hoof-falls.

As it turned out, it was more than Psithyra had initially expected. Striding into view of her cage was none other than eight Eclipse Guards and Shining Armor himself, all wearing their finest battle regalia. Psithyra snorted softly in spite of herself. Eight elite guards and the captain of the lot here to see one disarmed and disabled prisoner. She must really have spooked them with her earlier display.

Captain Armor stopped in front of Psithyra’s cell, staring at her. Psithyra stared right back at him, daring him to blink.

Finally. Someone worth speaking to.

After ten seconds of this, Shining Armor cleared his throat. “I assume you know who I am,” He said bluntly.

Ah. So it was going to be like this. Fine, Psithyra thought. She could play their game for now.

“I do,” Psithyra replied calmly, her voice vibrating dual like her elder sister’s. “You seem to have recovered from Queen Chrysalis’s influence.”

This made Shining Armor bristle slightly.

“To think that the queen almost took over your kingdom with a simple trick. And she would’ve had it too if not for those meddling ponies. All from a single flick of deception anypony could’ve seen through. Ah, but even you couldn’t, could you? That tells me how much you really know about your wife.”

Captain Armor was good at disguising his displeasure, but she could taste his emotions rolling in through the bars of her cell. That wasn’t magic, that was just one of her senses, and therefore wasn’t blocked by the enchantment of her cage.

“Where is Queen Chrysalis?” Shining Armor asked, stepping closer to the cell. “I know you came here to break her out of prison.”

Psithyra quietly considered this question.

“Queen Chrysalis is far away from here. Far from you. She can be anything or anypony; she’ll disappear, blend in. You’ll never find her unless she wants you to.”

The one called Frigid Night had put his papers down and trotted over. “We’ve found her before. We’ll find her again.”

“I find that… unlikely,” Psithyra drawled, hoping she sounded a lot more confident than she felt. Her infiltrators would do their best and keep her sister out of trouble, but Chrysalis still technically outranked them and could choose to ignore them. Psithyra sincerely hoped that she wouldn’t, otherwise this entire venture would have been for nothing.

“All right,” Shining Armor seemed to think that there wasn’t any more point to pursuing this line of conversation. “Fine. I still have questions. About you, actually.”

“How exciting,” Psithyra fake yawned. “Ask away, Prince Charming. I might choose to answer. I might not.”

“Let’s start with a name,” Shining Armor continued after clearing his throat. “You’re unlike the regular changeling. You look more like your queen. What is your name?”

“Are you asking me out?” Psithyra tittered. “Still, as I am being asked by someone of equal station, I suppose I should answer.”

“Equal station?” One of the Eclipse guards muttered.

“You’ve just married a princess,” Psithyra pointed out tiredly, as if having to explain something very obvious to someone who was very dull. “That makes you a prince, does it not?”

“So you are a princess, then?” Frigid Night deduced. “A princess of the changelings.”

“That would mean she is the younger sister of the queen,” the Eclipse Guard with the weird accent declared. “This is no normal changeling we have here.”

Psithyra brought her hooves together and clapped three times sarcastically. “Bravo. Truly, a sharper group of pony minds was never assembled until now.”

“So you snuck in. Likely transformed into various ponies to get past security to free your sister.” Frigid Night began trotting along the cell door. “You got her out, we know that much. Your combat prowess is that of somepony that has trained all their life to accomplish their goal. No normal changeling can perform the way you did. Impressive, I must say, but… what’s more impressive is that your goal was not to kill. You simply knocked out our guards.”

“Again. Astute observation skills,” Psithyra mocked.

“The question is… why?” Shining Armor narrowed his eyes. “Why would you fight not to harm my troops? If your goal was to escape with your life, why risk hitting my ponies with the blunt side of your weapon?”

Psithyra pictured her weapon and wondered where they had kept it. They were at least smart enough not to put it on the table across from her cell, but without a doubt they would have placed it in their armory, a location she could easily reach once she was out of here.

Psithyra turned her head to the side a few inches. “Would you have preferred that I had fought to kill? Is that what you want from me?”

“What? No! Not at all,” Shining Armor looked taken aback. “I’m just wondering why you didn’t do the same thing Queen Chrysalis did to our search party. Given your similarities.”

At this, Psithyra sniffed derisively at the guard captain. “I am not my sister.”

“That I can see. Something tells me you’re… more calm and reasonable. Tell me, are you?”

“That depends on the manner of our discussion,” Psithyra replied. Three days and this whole place would come crashing down. Three days. She could wait. In the meantime she might as well entertain herself with the ponies while she could.

“If you’re this good, why take orders from her?” The Eclipse guard inched closer. “You could be the one in charge with your given skillset and power.”

“Because that would be completely wrong,” Psithyra eyed the guard haughtily. “Would you take over your commander simply because someone else thought you were more skilled?”

Nopony said a thing about that.

“What is it that you want?” Frigid was the next to speak. “What do you hope to gain by taking Canterlot? Is it not better to live in harmony? Changelings feed on love. If you were to come to us bearing friendship, our kinds could live peacefully together.”

Psithyra rolled her eyes again. “That,” she said. “Is a typical pony idea. The Changeling Queen’s mind works a bit differently from your own, I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

"Yes…" Shining Armor agreed. "We still haven't figured out how she managed to get as far as she did with impersonating my wife. But would it be wrong for me to say that you had a hoof in it?"

Psithyra said nothing.

“And am I wrong to assume you have a hideout somewhere in town?” he continued. “Somewhere to establish a base of operations? I had my inklings when the Eclipse guard came back with their findings.”

"Does it look like anyone else is here?" Psithyra scoffed. "It's just me; every other changeling got blasted away by the love wave. Nobody else cared about the queen enough to risk their lives to come get her. That's my responsibility as a princess of the hive."

“You risked your life and your identity to rescue her, yes. But your queen left you to us and escaped.” Frigid Night flipped through a few sheets of parchment. “I’d say it’s not really two-sided now, is it? Why do you pledge yourself to somepony who clearly cares nothing for anypony but herself?”

Psithyra looked Frigid straight in the eyes with her frostiest stare.

"Because she is my queen. As a soldier yourself, you should understand that."

Chapter 13 - Seeing the Sun

The ponies didn't have much to say after that. Shining Armor and his troupe of Eclipse guards left, some of them looking disturbed by what they had heard. Psithyra watched them leave, with only Frigid Night staying behind to watch her cell. He didn’t look too unsettled.

Whatever. Psithyra thought and laid back on the bed. Her internal clock was telling her it was nearing bedtime, so she turned away from the cell door and closed her eyes.

Two days to go.

With that happy thought in her head, Psithyra let herself drift off to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

“What are you doing?”

Queen Chrysalis watched as Nahara magically carried a wooden box full of papers out from the secret passageway, depositing it in the main onsen room. The hot water bath had been drained and there were now a multitude of other such crates taking up the space.

"What is all this?" Chrysalis smacked a hole-ridden hoof against one of the boxes. "What could you possibly want with so much paper?"

Nahara said nothing, but plucked a sheet of paper out of a crate and magicked it to Chrysalis. The queen squinted at the minuscule writing for a moment.

"Croissant Glaze is in debt and selling under the counter illegal imported tax free sundries to make ends meet," Chrysalis looked unimpressed. "So this is all dirt on the ponies of this city?"

"That's right, your highness," Mava said as she walked past with another box. "The fruit of generations of sneaking and eavesdropping and hypnosis."

"We had it stored in the caves under Canterlot until now," Azal told Chrysalis, ever the proper manager. "If the princess returns in two days, we'll put it back. If not… these go everywhere.”

Chrysalis squinted at Azal. "And what, pray tell, is that supposed to do?"

"Cause untold chaos and anarchy in the city," Hafet supplied as she passed by. "Something similar on a smaller scale happened in Ponyville a while back. Whole town nearly exploded. Imagine what a motherload like this will do?" She cackled playfully. "Aaahh… it'll be a shame to have to leave Canterlot, though. I really like that bakery down the road and their muffins."

"You're going to destroy Canterlot?" Chrysalis asked, her expression curdling. "Why?"

"Because that is what our princess's last orders were," Salegg trotted into the room, staring at her queen with thinly veiled scorn. "If she is to fall, the city falls with her. Poetic, isn't it?"

"What? No!" Chrysalis stamped her hoof. "Canterlot is my city to conquer! If you destroy it, how am I supposed to take over it? I need the city intact and nice."

“Find another city?” Salegg shrugged and carried on. “Or just go home. The princess had worked up an amazing plan for you, your majesty, in case you’ve forgotten. And then you ruined it all.”

Chrysalis growled angrily. “Don’t take that tone with me. I am your queen, and I will not be spoken to like that. Not even from you, no matter how valuable Psithyra may think you are.”

“Clearly she thinks of us more than you do of her.” Salegg tossed a box of paper on the ground and approached her. “You just left her in there. After everything she risked to get you out.”

“Salegg, tone it down, please.” Azal stepped between them. “She’s still our queen.”

“You know what? She’s not. She’s not my queen!” Salegg prodded a hoof into his chest. “Just fry me right here and now. I will not stand another moment serving under this queen when all she does is foul everything we work so hard to do for her. Princess Psithyra is twice the ruler the 'queen' will ever be!”

“This isn’t something you can just walk away from,” Hafet said worriedly, coming closer. “Salegg, you know we can’t resign. We’re not ponies.”

“Ugh…” Salegg dropped to the ground and sighed. “Well, there’s not much more to do than to watch Canterlot burn.”

“Just get it all out here for now. That’s our first goal,” Azal said and returned to carrying the boxes. “We’ll talk about what we do next after all that’s done.”

“And you!” Salegg shot to her hooves and pointed at Chrysalis, who was slinking away, sulking. “Your own sister gave up her life for you! Yes, you’re the high and mighty overlord of the changeling hordes, but even somepony like you should be able to see when someone cares about you! Our princess, your own flesh and blood, is starving in a jail cell because she thought your life was worth more than her own! You could at least act grateful about it.”

And with that, Salegg turned away sharply and flew off towards the entrance to the caves, where the rest of the infiltrators were working, bringing up the blackmail and collected secrets.

Hafet looked nervously at Chrysalis before buzzing off after Salegg. Azal and Nahara simply said nothing and returned to work as if nothing had happened.

Queen Chrysalis stood there in stunned silence. No creature had ever spoken to her like that, in such a tone. She had half a mind to go after that insolent changeling infiltrator and rip her to shreds. How dare she imply that she wasn’t fit to rule? How dare she say that a ruler should do things for her followers? How dare she say all those things to her supreme ruler?

How dare she be right.

The changeling queen left the onsen room, wandering aimlessly into the lower depths while Salegg’s words echoed around inside her head. The tiniest flicker of conscience inside Chrysalis seemed to be telling her something, but she refused to acknowledge it. She was the queen and could do as she liked. No creature could tell her what to do.

So then why did she feel so dejected?

Chrysalis could think of several minor reasons. She had been imprisoned, her invasion plan had failed, and now changelings were a known race to the ponies.

Yet none of these reasons could match up to the one Salegg had pointed out.

Chrysalis could feel the gears inside her head churning. She could taste the dislike that Salegg had aimed at her earlier, and none of the other infiltrators were very happy with her either, despite their words and actions. You couldn’t hide your emotions from a changeling.

Even heavier than that feeling though, was a deep pit in her stomach. She was unfamiliar with this emotion; she hadn’t felt it before in recent memory.

Chrysalis didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

So deep was the changeling queen in her ruminations that she almost missed the feeling of her horn bumping into something. It was a door. Wooden and nondescript and slightly ajar.

Curious, Chrysalis pushed it open fully. Inside, it looked like a bedroom. From the smell, Chrysalis instinctively knew that this was the bedroom of her sister, Psithyra.

Walking inside, Chrysalis looked around the space. There was a harp in one corner, and a sizeable wardrobe took up one wall. There was a bed at the far end of the room, pushed up against the wall. It was no royal suite, Chrysalis saw.

A writing desk stood on the left, with sheets of paper and parchment stacked neatly on one edge. A small collection of ink pens and quills caught her attention. Was this where her sister wrote the letters that kept them both in correspondence? Looked like it. Usually Chrysalis just magicked the words onto the paper, but her sister seemed to prefer to use actual writing implements.

Chrysalis examined the writing desk for a moment, imagining her younger sister standing here, writing her letters full of vitriol and frustration. Yes, she had gone against the plan, but that was no reason to lambast her in writing like she was a naughty grub.

Right?

The pit in her stomach grew heavier.

The changeling queen was about to turn and leave when her nose caught the faint scent of something sweet coming from the desk. She craned her neck and saw the wastepaper basket next to the desk, tucked away between a hat stand and the desk’s legs. It was nearly brimming full of crumpled up pieces of paper with writing on them.

Chrysalis leaned over and levitated up a ball of paper, smoothing it out with her magic. Her eyes scanned the first few lines and they widened. She grabbed another crumpled ball and opened it. Then another and another.

She couldn’t believe it. These were the equivalent of love letters, written by her sister and addressed to her, Chrysalis. Each note and sheet had been penned with the kindness and adoration that only someone in love could write. The bin was full of them, each one an impassioned and longing declaration of sisterly affection, sometimes going even beyond that.

Is this how Psithyra really feels about me? Chrysalis was stunned into silence. These were the kinds of letters that she had found preserved in Princess Cadance’s journal while she had been impersonating the alicorn princess, written to her during the days when she had just begun dating that stallion, Shining Armor.

Chrysalis dropped the discarded letters with a look of steely determination on her face. In light of this discovery, there was only one thing that could be done. The changeling queen felt the beginnings of an idea forming in her head, taking in everything she knew about the ponies, the guards, and everything that went on inside this spa that she had been told by the infiltrators.

Chrysalis’s wings buzzed into motion, taking her back up to the surface level where the other changelings were still unpacking the boxes of blackmail and intelligence. She landed in front of them with a clack of hooves on tile.

“I have an announcement,” Chrysalis said loudly.

“What is it?” Salegg growled. “Can you not see we are busy?”

Chrysalis once again tasted the flavor of dislike, but chose to ignore it. Right now, she had to get these six changelings on her side.

“I know that I… haven’t always done things like they should have been done,” Chrysalis forced out with no small amount of effort. “And I know that some of you prefer my sister’s rule to mine. That is… not what I’m here about. You said I left Princess Psithyra for the ponies while I made my escape. Well, for one thing, she offered to stay behind and be the distraction, so it’s not really my fault…” Chrysalis stopped herself as she felt six pairs of eyes narrow at her words. “Ahem. Anyway, I know some of you don’t think I’m a fit ruler. But I ask of you to give me one more chance. A chance to prove I’m worth your following.”

This caught the attention of the infiltrators and Chrysalis felt the mood of the room change ever so slightly. She had their curiosity, now she needed their interest.

“I have a plan to get Princess Psithyra back from the ponies,” Chrysalis pressed on. “But I cannot do it on my own. I need all your help and resources in order to make it work. Can I count on your assistance in rescuing my sister?"

There was an excruciating moment of silence. Chrysalis unconsciously held her breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Finally, Azal looked at the others, reading their feelings and faces. He then stepped forward, with resolve shining in his eyes.

“What do you need us to do, my queen?”

Psithyra awoke to the sound of metallic hoofsteps. A guardspony stood in front of her cell door, holding a tray of food. He slid the tray through a little slot at the bottom before walking away.

"You do know I can’t digest this, right?" Psithyra said as she stared at the bread, cheese, and greens that she had just been served. “No, of course they wouldn’t know that.” At least she could drink the water.

After finishing the water and pushing aside the rest of the food, Psithyra went back to lying on the bed. It wasn’t as though there was a lot else to do in this cell anyway.

Frigid Night had left while Psithyra was sleeping. Now there was another guardspony sitting behind the desk, this one a mare with a light blue mane, split by a yellow streak. She tasted faintly of anger and concern, but it was difficult to tell while in Psithyra’s weakened state.

Time passed, and Psithyra decided to count the number of tiles in the ceiling to while away the hours.

She had just finished counting the two hundred and seventy-ninth tile when the doors to the holding area opened again.

Immediately the smell and taste of something very old and powerful wafted into the cell. Even older than Psithyra herself was. Psithyra froze. She knew this taste and scent.

“Finally decided to bring out the big lance, hmm?” She said to herself and sat up. “Let’s see how well we can do.”

She did not have to wait for very long. Coming into view in front of Psithyra’s cell was a pony that she knew from the field of battle, all those years ago. The only pony to ever decisively beat the changeling army in a fight.

Princess Celestia herself.

Escorted by Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance, and that baby dragon who was Twilight’s aide, Princess Celestia stopped in front of Psithyra’s cell and stood there, as if considering what to say. She looked more or less the same as she had all those years ago, Psithyra thought. Just missing the golden armor she had worn when she had fought Queen Chrysalis.

Finally, Celestia broke the silence.

“It’s been a long time,” The sun princess said plainly, without any obvious emotion.

Psithyra stood up and walked up to the bars. “Indeed it has. You’re looking… well.”

“Wait, you know this changeling?” Twilight asked Celestia, her mouth agape. "And she knows you?"

"How could I forget?" Psithyra held up one of her forelegs, displaying the perforated surface. "Our meeting was literally etched into my body. Not a day goes by that I don’t remember you, Celestia. I'm sure Queen Chrysalis is the same, O Sun Princess."

“What does she mean by that?” Spike asked Twilight. Twilight shrugged and turned her head to look at Celestia.

"That was a long time ago," Celestia said. "I suppose you would still remember." The eldest princess stood up a little straighter. "Shining Armor said he didn't make much headway with you yesterday. He didn't even get your name. Come to think of it, neither did I."

"Oh, now you want my name?" Psithyra tapped on the floor with a hoof. "Fair enough. To the victor go the spoils, after all. My name is Psithyra, First Princess of Queen Chrysalis’s hive."

"You're a princess?" Spike blurted out at the introduction. "But where's your crown and stuff?"

Psithyra looked down at Spike sternly. "My armor is my crown and my weapon my scepter. Both of which you have in your possession."

“A princess she may be, but she is a powerful warrior,” Celestia continued. “The queen’s right-hoof. She’s the one that really gets things done."

"You are a formidable fighter yourself, Celestia," Psithyra said. "Even after all these years, the marks from our last battle have not faded. The only creature to best Queen Chrysalis in open combat. I hear she paid you back at the wedding."

Princess Celestia sighed. “I admit, she proved to be a far stronger adversary than I expected. Defeating me in single combat is no mean feat.”

“Indeed,” Psithyra yawned. “So why have you come all the way down here to visit little old me? Surely you have other duties as ruler of the Day Court.”

“I know enough about Queen Chrysalis to come to the conclusion that she didn’t come up with the whole invasion plan on her own,” Celestia continued evenly. “Which means that you must have been the mastermind behind it all.”

Psithyra ran a hoof through her filmy purple mane. “Yes, it was a fine plan, wasn’t it? If not for a few minor hiccups, our positions now might be reversed.”

“By ‘a few minor hiccups’, you mean me,” Twilight stepped forward. “I saw through Queen Chrysalis’s disguise from the start.”

“And yet nobody else believed you,” Psithyra replied silkily. “I know how that feels, Twilight Sparkle. In fact, if my sister hadn’t blown her cover by sending you to the caves, everyone would have thought you to be an over possessive stick in the mud.”

Twilight scowled but couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.

“The point is, the plan failed,” Princess Cadance stepped forward. “I remember you. You were the one who kept bringing me food and water while I was stuck in the crystal caves.”

Psithyra made a show of stretching, as if bored. “Your point?”

“My point is that contrary to what the ponies in Canterlot and beyond think, you changelings are capable of kindness and decency. So why did you choose to try and conquer Canterlot by force instead of coming under the pretense of friendship?”

“I already explained this to your guard captain and husband,” Psithyra resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You have a pony’s way of thinking. My sister has a changeling way of thinking. Both very far removed from each other. What you think is common sense might not be for Chrysalis. Understand?”

“But not to you?” Cadance asked quietly.

Psithyra glanced aside at the pink alicorn. “Whatever makes you say that?”

“You have an unusual amount of care for pony lives,” Cadance insisted. “Shining Armor told me that when you were fighting his guardsponies, you took special care to make sure you didn’t kill any of them, even when you could have to make things easier on yourself. And you could have just killed me instead of keeping me as a prisoner in the caverns. I’m a fairly good judge of character, and I can tell you aren’t as heartless as the public thinks your kind to be.”

At this, Psithyra said nothing.

“If you’re so different from your sister, why do you continue to help her?” Twilight asked earnestly. “If she’s willing to listen to you about things, why not try to steer her in a more peaceful direction?”

“You’re a fairly well-read pony, are you not?” Psithyra replied. “What do you know about changelings?”

Twilight grimaced slightly. “Not much,” she admitted.

“Then maybe you should ask your Sun Princess about the nature of changelings. We can’t change our nature, as much as we might like to. My kind will always be opposed to you as long as Queen Chrysalis is the ruler.” Psithyra raised her head with a hint of pride. “And so long as I live, I will not tolerate any other changeling in charge. That is just the way things are, Twilight Sparkle. Even your friendship magic cannot solve every problem.”

“But it can!” Twilight insisted forcefully. “If you would just give it a chance, maybe you could lead the changelings in a better direction!”

Psithyra looked down at the lavender unicorn with scorn in her eyes.

“That,” she said calmly. “Is a typical pony idea. “I am unfit to lead our race, just as you are unfit to rule Equestria. What you are asking is simply impossible on multiple levels. Go back to your books, little pony. You clearly haven’t studied enough to talk to me about this.”

Twilight bristled, but held her tongue out of respect for Celestia and Cadance.

Psithyra smiled inwardly at the reaction. Here was clearly a pony who prided herself in knowing a lot about things, and it felt good to knock her confidence down a peg. And in one day, the whole city of Canterlot would be ablaze with the raging flames of chaos.

“Now, unless you have other pressing subjects to bother me with, I would like to rest. Your food is plain indigestible to me and I would prefer to save my strength. No doubt you’ll have more inane questions to bother me with on the morrow.”

The changeling princess returned to her bed and lay down on it, staring up at the ceiling. She didn’t need to be watching as one by one, Celestia and her fellows walked away, smelling of pity and frustration.

Not long afterwards, Captain Frigid Night came back. He said nothing, but sat down at the desk with a couple of scrolls that he unwrapped, squinting at them as he unrolled each one.

Eventually, Frigid Night came up to Psithyra’s cell to inspect it.

“What in the world are you checking for?” Psithyra asked as he pressed his face up to the cell bars. It would have been easy for Psithyra to reach out and throttle him, but she didn’t have the strength for such a maneuver at the moment. All she could do was sit up on her cot and give the pony a questioning look. “I haven’t gone anywhere.”

Frigid Night looked up into Psithyra’s eyes.

“I’m just looking to make sure the cell hasn’t been tampered with,” He said. “In two days’ time, I have orders to have you moved to a more secure facility.”

“And where might that be?” Psithyra asked lazily. “I was under the impression that the Canterlot Castle dungeons were already prime real estate for creatures that the princesses want locked up.”

“And we thought so, until you showed up to break Queen Chrysalis out of here,” Frigid replied sternly. “We don’t want to take any chances, so you’ll be relocated to somewhere that you’ll have a much harder time escaping from.”

“And where might that be?”

Frigid Night walked away from the cell, seemingly satisfied.

“Tartarus. You might have heard of it.”

Psithyra had indeed heard of it. She didn’t fancy her chances in that hellhole, but it was all immaterial anyway. Moved in two days? Come tomorrow, she would be old news, and the ponies of Canterlot would tear each other apart.

Chapter 14 - The Princess in Chains

Psithyra was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by a gentle clanking sound. She opened her eyes, trying to ignore how hungry she was feeling. Hungrier, to be precise. Changelings were nearly always hungry, but that was beside the point. Psithyra sat up and saw a guardspony taking her armor from the jailer’s desk and putting it into a wooden crate.

“Where are you taking that?” Psithyra asked hoarsely.

The guard glanced up, looking a little bit surprised at being spoken to in such a direct manner from a prisoner. “Er, orders from high up. I have to take it to the armory.”

Psithyra frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” The guard answered honestly as he put the lid on the box. “I’m just following orders.”

Psithyra watched as the guard lit up his horn and levitated the crate into the air, taking it around the corner and out of sight. She found herself sad to see it go. She had worn that armor on so many scouting and reconnaissance missions for Chrysalis and now she was likely never going to see it again.

Speaking of never seeing things again, Psithyra quietly thought about the spa, and what was to come either later today or tomorrow morning.

These ponies shall never see it coming. The end of their precious Canterlot. Even Celestia will be powerless to stop it.

But unlike before, the thought gave her little pleasure. She was still stuck in a cell and starving to death slowly. The fact that the city would soon implode around her was now not something to look forward to, but rather a fact that she had resigned herself to.

A death knell for the both of us, should my Infiltrators simply choose to flee with my sister. This is still my city, and I get to fiddle while it burns.

Then there was the fact that she was to be moved to Tartarus in less than forty-eight hours. Psithyra wasn’t exactly sure how long it would take for all the juicy information to make its way into the right hooves to do damage, but she trusted her changelings to find the best and fastest method of distribution. If she recalled correctly, the incident in Ponyville that she was trying to copy and enhance had involved the local newspaper. If that was the case here, there was the risk that she might be moved out of the city before the metaphorical compost hit the windmill.

Psithyra lay back on the bed and tried to sleep. It was not easy, but eventually she drifted off into a sort of waking dream.

The creature first opened her eyes, blinded by the light that was coming in from a hole above the cavern, raising one of her hooves to shield herself.

Once she felt she was ready, she slowly pushed the rest of her body out of the tree trunk she had emerged from, already finding more of her kind spread around the cavern, though they were different than she was. While most of them had spiky fins on their heads and smaller forms, she had long purple hair coming down from the top of her head, some of it covering her left eye, and she was about double their size.

“Where is this? What is this?” she asked aloud, her eyes darting around her new surroundings.

Before the tree she had exited from was a murky lake, filled with the bones of various other creatures she had never seen before. The water was a poisonous green and that was enough to tell her not to swim in it.

There was a commotion near the shore of the lake, where about a dozen of the smaller ones were gathered, seemingly staring in awe at something in the shadows.

The creature herself decided to see what was going on, trotting closer. She noticed they all had wings on their back, tiny for their size, but once she began to flap them, she realized size didn’t matter.

“We can fly… What else can we do?”

Gliding over to the shadows, the creature peered through the darkness to find another of her kind, a larger one with long teal hair, lying down on her side, watching the smaller creatures with a smile on her face. She had much larger wings than even the creature herself and something about her seemed to radiate power, even as she simply lay there.

She has hair too. Just like me.

“And who are you supposed to be?” The one with long hair turned to her, lifting a hoof to her chin.

The smaller creatures all turned their heads to the purple maned interloper, their bug eyes now looking directly at her.

“I… I do not know…” The creature shook her head. She felt as though that had been nothing before, up until this moment. The first thing she recalled was walking through the tree, nothing else.

“And we are all unnamed, just like you.” The larger creature smirked and pointed to a row of smaller creatures. “But I have given these few names. Cephalon, Chitin, Oryctes, just to name a few. As for me, you may call me… Chrysalis.”

“Chry-salis…” the purple haired creature repeated. Yes, she liked the sound of that name. But that was the other creature. What about a name for herself? “A-And I?”

The one called Chrysalis rubbed her hoof against her cheek and then stood up on all fours before slowly trotting over to her. “You are not like the others. Perhaps you deserve a name above these little ones… You shall be called…” There was a long pause before Chrysalis spoke again. “Psithyra. And you shall be my closest friend. You shall be my sister.”

The smaller creatures began chattering amongst themselves, then giving nods of approval towards both of them.

“Yes, Psithyra…” The purple haired one smiled, her first smile since arriving here. They had no knowledge of everything around them or even what they were, but Chrysalis had made sense of it all, even for all of them. Psithyra felt like she owed her now, and she would gladly do so. “Thank you, Chrysalis. I will make you proud, my sister.”

Psithyra awoke with an odd, misty feeling in her eyes. She rubbed them and was surprised to find them to be damp. She quickly scrubbed away the moisture, more than a little cross at herself.

This is ridiculous. She thought. I do not get weepy. I have been through far worse than this before. Right?

However, she knew she was lying to herself. Every other time she had been in a tight spot, she had still had the help of her faithful six infiltrators and her own cunning and magic. Now her infiltrators were nowhere near, and she had no magic to speak of. All that was left were her wits, and those were fast deteriorating under the heavy burden of starvation.

It doesn’t matter. Psithyra thought to herself. Even if I die in here, the city will die with me. The hive will live on, and Canterlot will be in ruins. It is more than I could hope for. More than I deserve.

By now, Azal and the others should have seen Chrysalis out of the city. Psithyra trusted her spa staff to carry out her orders, but she was also aware that they would have to bow to their hive queen’s orders over her own.

If Psithyra was due to be carted off to Tartarus, she hoped the ponies might as well get it over with. From what she knew, creatures in that prison didn’t suffer from hunger or thirst, which would be a welcome reprieve from her current situation. Or it might mean she would be stuck in a cell for the rest of time with nothing but a gnawing feeling in her stomach for company. That didn’t sound nearly as good.

While Psithyra was mulling over her immediate future, the guard Frigid Night came back down into the dungeons. He was holding a newspaper in his mouth and he sat down behind the jailer’s desk to read it. He seemed completely at ease, which made Psithyra’s brow crease slightly.

“Hey,” Psithyra said at last, the word scraping out of her throat. “Pony. What are you reading?”

Frigid Night looked up. “Uh, the news? Like everypony does every day?” He said, slapping the paper with his hoof. “No news about changelings, in case you were wondering. Seems you were telling the truth about you being a one-mare rescue act.”

“I am not a mare,” Psithyra growled and returned to her bed.

Clearly the blackmail and secrets had not yet been unleashed, at least, not for this morning’s paper. Still, the changeling princess was not that concerned. It took time to write and print newspapers after all, and something as juicy as her stash would take a little while to process. She had waited this long; she could wait a few hours more.

And yet.

As the day wore on, Psithyra drifted in and out of the clutches of sleep, waking in snatches to look at the clock that hung over the jailer’s desk. The hours were flashing by. This was the third day. This had to be the third day, she had been keeping count of it meticulously.

And yet.

Canterlot was still standing. No signs of civil unrest, no signs of riots or nobles killing each other. Everything seemed to be fine.

Psithyra dared not ask Frigid Night about the news again; he might get suspicious and tell someone with a brain, and then investigations would begin again. What she did know, however, was that something about her plan had gone wrong. There was only one creature she could think of to blame.

“Chrysalis…” Psithyra growled at the wall. Who else could have stopped her loyal infiltrators from doing their jobs? No doubt because Chrysalis would be against the total annihilation of Canterlot; she probably still had fanciful ideas about conquering it.

News flash, Chrysalis, you couldn’t plan your way out of a wet paper bag, much less to conquer a whole city.

In truth, Psithyra was concerned about what would happen if she were to be locked up in Tartarus. Her sister needed her to be her tactician and advisor, and without Psithyra’s presence, the hive could very well be in great danger.

A wave of nausea swept over Psithyra as she imagined the state of the hive without her. Or it might have been hunger, but changelings were always hungry. That was nothing new.

Still, she hoped that she was wrong and that her stash of secrets and blackmail had managed to be distributed after all.

But as the hours continued to tick by, the gnawing sense of unease in Psithyra’s gut grew stronger. Something wasn’t right.

Oh well. She had tried her hardest, and if that wasn’t enough, then there was nothing else she could do about it.

The next morning dawned with the sound of a guard rapping his hoof against the bars of the cage.

“Wake up, changeling,” The guardspony ordered.

Psithyra blinked the sleep from her eyes and sighed in defeat. So it seemed like her final orders had gone unfulfilled after all.

She rose from the bed and stood before the cell door, swaying slightly on her hooves from hunger. Outside, various pony guards assembled, one of them holding a set of metal shackles.

So this was it. Her plans had failed her for some unknown reason, and she was to be carted off to Tartarus. It wasn’t that she was afraid to die; Psithyra had known since the beginning that her job and role meant that death was always close by and she had long since come to terms with it. But the prospect of being trapped in a cell for all eternity with no idea what had happened to her sister and her infiltrators made her empty stomach turn. She didn’t like mysteries. Better to be wrong and know that than be left guessing forever, she thought.

“Hooves in the slot, prisoner,” The guardspony ordered.

Psithyra was too worn out to say anything, and simply did as she was told. The cold metal shackles were secured around her hooves with a click.

The pony guard opened the cell door, with the other holding swords and spears in case she tried to make a break for it. They needn’t have worried, as Psithyra meekly left the cell. She still had no access to her magic, due to the cuffs bearing the same enchantment as the cell.

Thus began the slow march outside towards the front gates. The grim parade did not run into any servants or castle staff on the way out, as the route had been secured to make sure that there was no chance of escape. As Psithyra was walked outside, she looked up at the sky. Even it seemed to be in a sad mood, with billowing thunderclouds swelling in the heavens, blocking out Celestia’s sun and the clear blue sky.

“Didn’t think we were due for any rain until next week,” One of the guards commented in a quiet voice.

Another guard shrugged. “That’s the weather department’s problem, not ours.”

Psithyra didn’t think much of this fact. It just meant that the last sky she would ever see would be this overcast soup.

The group walked around the corner and Psithyra saw a large wooden carriage with metal banding parked there. The leadmost guard hurried forward and opened the door with a key.

“Get in,” He said to Psithyra.

Psithyra obeyed. The carriage itself was probably bound as well, to make doubly sure that nothing magical could escape from inside. The interior of the vehicle was austere, with two benches facing each other. A pair of pony guards, both earth ponies, climbed in after her and sat on the front bench. Psithyra sighed and settled down on the rear bench. The door to the carriage swung shut and locked itself, leaving only two small barred windows for air.

“Alright, lads,” The lead guard called from outside. “I want a smooth journey from here to Tartarus. It’ll take us at least two days to get there, so be ready for a long trip. We’ll make a stop at the garrison in Fillydelphia for the night before heading on the next morning. And prisoner,” He was now addressing Psithyra. “No funny business, understand?”

He didn’t seem to be expecting an answer, and the carriage began to roll. They weren’t going by air; that would be far too risky if something did happen to go wrong. Far safer to be on the ground in case of any mischief or breakdowns. Besides, a carriage like this was heavy, even weightier than the princesses’ royal chariots, and hardly aerodynamic enough to fly a long distance.

Psithyra leaned her head back and rested it on the wooden interior surface of the carriage. It was going to be a long and depressing ride.

Author's Note

A quick little illustration of Psithyra that I've had sitting around for too long.

Chapter 15 - Secrets and Truths

Captain Bright Aegis has always prided himself as a pony that could follow orders to the letter. In fact, he liked to have a long, detailed plan for anything that pertained to his job, as well as anything outside it. His wife had often teased him about it, saying that if something didn’t go according to plan, it would be as if the world ended for him. But Bright Aegis had not yet met a situation in which he hadn’t had a backup plan or several in case the first one didn’t work out.

So when he found himself as one of the five ponies tasked with escorting a dangerous prisoner to Tartarus, he had immediately drawn up a plan for the whole trip there and back again. He plotted out the best path for the carriage to take, as well as the shifts the rest of the guards would have to take on such a long journey. Granted, his plan had included a clear sky to make the trip lighter and easier, but something must have changed at the last minute in the weather department.

I’ll have to write a strongly worded letter to the weather teams, Bright Aegis decided once they were out of the castle gates. This is Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. The weather needs to be kept in check, like everything else.

A few spotting drops of rain began to fall, no more than a slight annoyance to the three guardsponies who were outside the carriage. None of the guards let their irritation show, though. This was an important job, and no amount of rain was going to keep them from doing it to the best of their abilities.

Canterlot Castle stood on a raised platform above the rest of the city, so the way down to the city below was nice and easy. However, their path was soon stopped by a series of orange cones and wooden barricades.

Captain Bright Aegis stepped forward and looked at the obstruction. There was a lot of roadwork being done here, with numerous ponies holding power tools and other equipment. The road was just in the middle of the project, with paving stones scattered all over the place and deep holes in the earth beneath.

“Sorry, officers!” A pale green unicorn wearing a yellow hard hat and a fluorescent vest hurried over. “Road’s closed for pipe inspections.”

“Why weren’t we told about this?” Bright Aegis complained. “I’ve got some very important cargo that needs to be brought somewhere as soon as possible.” He did not want to mention that his cargo was a changeling princess.

“I still can’t let you through,” the unicorn in the hard hat shook his head apologetically. “It’s not safe. Too many holes in the ground. You’ll have to go around.”

Grumbling to himself, Bright Aegis went back to the carriage and the two burly guards pulling it. He took his plan in his head and sketched out another path for them to take.

“We can’t go through here. We’ll take her down Rosy Lane instead.”

The guards nodded and turned the carriage around. Rosy Lane was close to the weather factory, and going through there would take them past some slopes in the city infrastructure. It wasn’t an ideal path for a wheeled vehicle to go down, but there wasn’t any other choice.

The dips and hills in the road meant a bumpy ride, and a slow one too. Rosy Lane was quite an old road, and it hadn’t received the proper refurbishment that a lot of the other, older parts of Canterlot had gotten. At least it was still paved and mortarted.

Captain Bright Aegis walked around a large puddle of mud, making sure he kept his armor clean. The two ponies pulling the carriage simply plowed right through it, but before they could make it another three steps, something caught and the carriage stopped.

“Oi! What’s the matter?” Bright Aegis exclaimed. “Why did you stop?”

The captain hurried back to the vehicle and looked at it. The reason for the sudden halt became clear: the carriage’s wheels had gotten stuck in the mud.

“Why wasn’t this cleared away?” Bright Aegis groaned. “This could hold up the traffic for hours if somepony else’s cart had come here.” He circled the carriage and looked around. There actually wasn’t much other traffic on this street, but they had stopped at a T-junction, at the bottom of a steep hill. “Come on then, let’s get this thing out of the muck.”

Bright Aegis trotted to the back of the carriage and rammed his shoulder against it, pushing with all his might while the two ponies up front pulled as hard as they were able. The wheels of the carriage moved a little bit, but not enough to break free of the mud’s sticky embrace.

“Again!” Bright Aegis ordered, throwing himself at the rear of the vehicle once more. "Heave!”

As he pushed, the captain’s ears picked up a faint, but quickly growing rattling sound. He looked around for its source. Nothing was coming up or down Rosy Lane. Then he looked at the upper part of the T-junction, where the streets intersected.

Another wagon was speeding down towards them, its back part loaded with heavy bricks. The driver of the vehicle pulled on the steering reins, her mane flapping wildly in the wind as she tried in vain to slow down. The downwards slope only added more speed to the runaway wagon, and it suddenly became clear to Bright Aegis that unless they managed to get their carriage out of the mud in the next ten seconds, there was going to be a collision.

The captain lunged at the back of the carriage in one final effort to move it, but the wheels remained stuck fast.

“Brace yourselves!” Aegis shouted as the brick-laden wagon smashed into the guards’ carriage at full speed.

Psithyra had been brooding moodily to herself when the carriage had come to an abrupt halt. She looked up from her thoughts and cast a half-hearted glance out the tiny window. They seemed to have stopped on Rosy Lane. As a spa owner, she had never really come down this way, but as a changeling spy, she had made it her mission to learn the entire city’s layout. Rosy Lane wasn’t an optimal path to get to the city exits.

The carriage continued to shake and shudder, but not really move anywhere. Were they stuck? Psithyra almost wanted to ask, but in the end decided it wasn’t worth it. Even if the wagon was stopped, she was still trapped inside with these two humorless fools for company. Still, any moment longer out here to breathe fresh air was welcome.

There was a faint rattling sound now. Quiet at first but growing louder by the second. This time she craned her neck to look outside, but the window was too narrow to afford any kind of good view. All she could see was the cloudy sky and a small stretch of road.

And then her ears picked up the sound of the guard captain yelling, “Brace yourselves!”

Faster than lightning, Psithyra picked up on the scent of alarm and fear. She threw herself onto the floor of the carriage, putting her hooves above her head.

It was just as well that she did.

CRASH!

The carriage suddenly exploded all around her, with wooden splinters, shards of metal, and fragments of brick flying every which way. The two guards who had been in the carriage with her had not reacted as quickly as she had and had been hit full on by whatever had struck the vehicle.

Speaking of the carriage, it was in ruins. The collision had more or less torn it apart like a battering ram on a wooden gate, and Psithyra felt the binding magic from the vehicle fade away. She got up and looked around. There were carriage parts everywhere, and the two guards who had been pulling it were lying on the ground, groaning. The pair who had been inside with her lay half buried in the wreckage of the crash, one of them unconscious, the other one struggling to push a shattered wagon wheel off himself.

Around his neck was a key.

Psithyra leapt over and picked up the key in her teeth, unlocking her shackles in a heartbeat. She grinned as the old familiar surge of magic came back to her, and she leaned over the guard, draining his love energy as quickly as she could. It felt so good to finally eat after almost four days of starvation. She was going to need all the strength she could muster for what she was about to do.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the guard captain pick himself up and look at her in alarm.

Psithyra looked back and for a second, they locked eyes. Then the changeling princess buzzed her wings into motion and took off into the sky.

It was at that exact moment that the thunderclouds above them decided to unleash their watery payload. Gallons and gallons of rain came down like a heavy blanket, impairing sight and sound. Psithyra shot up into the air in a steep climb, looking back to see that the captain of the guard troop was flying after her. His golden armor was easy to see in the deluge, so she climbed higher until she was inside the clouds themselves.

Thunder rolled and lightning crackled in the dark masses. This was a storm of epic proportions, which was perfect for Psithyra. Once she lost this fool, there would be nopony to see where she had gone.

“Stop!” Aegis shouted in vain. His feathered wings were becoming waterlogged and soon would be unable to sustain flight. But there was something else that was going to get to him first.

In a blinding flash, a bolt of forked lightning struck Bright Aegis full on. He had been unlucky enough to be wearing metal armor while flying in a storm, and now he paid for it. His scorched form fell from the sky like a dropped stone, leaving Psithyra to make her escape uncontested. Wings buzzing and splashing raindrops everywhere, she did a little loop to make sure nopony else was following her before taking cover inside a cloud. In a flash of green, her changeling form was replaced with an unassuming white pegasus with a red and orange mane. She circled around Canterlot once before making her way down to ground level. Everypony was busy seeking shelter from the sudden downpour, and nopony looked at Psithyra twice.

In less than ten minutes, she had made it back to her spa’s front doors. They were locked and the sign said ‘closed’, but she could smell the scent of creatures inside. So she trotted over to the back door and found the spare key, using it to get inside and out of the pouring rain.

The inside of the spa was dark, with all the lights off. Psithyra shifted back into her changeling form and used a drying spell to get rid of the water before walking over to the entrance to the living quarters. She made it to the dining room and was greeted by the sight of all six of her infiltrators lined up in a row.

“Princess!” Salegg exclaimed with gladness. “You made it back!” She rushed forward and almost looked as if she wanted to hug Psithyra, but then remembered who she was and settled for a sort of half-bow, half-salute.

“We knew you could escape from those ponies,” Azal said smoothly. “The plan went perfectly, if I do say so myself.”

“Plan?” Psithyra repeated, puzzled. “What plan? Whose?”

From behind Psithyra, a presence made itself known. The princess smelled it before she saw it, but she knew who it was all the same.

“My plan,” Queen Chrysalis said, coming out and standing in the doorway.

“Your plan?” asked Psithyra in shock. “But… how did you…?”

“Why are you so surprised?” Chrysalis asked with a smile. “I can make plans too.”

“You can?” Psithyra was actually taken aback. Her sister had never made a plan in her life. All this time, it had always been Psithyra concocting every plan, every detail, every contingency, every assessment. “You’ve never once used your brain for such a thing.”

“I know you wanted us to distribute all the blackmail and secrets to the city and destroy it,” Azal continued. “But Queen Chrysalis decided to use it to manipulate the ponies into setting up a scenario in which you could escape from them. It wasn’t possible to get to you while you were in the castle dungeons, but the queen figured that there would be substantially less security if you were being moved from one prison to another. So I bribed the leader of the Canterlot weather department with some free tickets to a Wonderbolts show to make sure it would storm today…”

Nahara changed into her maid form. “I was the one who made sure the ponies would move you to Tartarus today. I altered some of the instructions in the guards’ ledgers.”

“I blackmailed a construction forepony to tear up the road that the guards normally would have taken,” Mava said proudly.

“And I was the pony who was driving the brick wagon,” Hafet grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun!”

“Oh, and I was the mud puddle,” Salegg chimed in. “Made sure to be extra sticky so the carriage couldn’t move.”

“I never thought it could be done.” Chrysalis put a hoof on her shoulder proudly. “But I have to hand it to your infiltrator here, she worked wonders as mud. Perhaps you could do it more for those mud face things you do here.”

Psithyra took this in slowly. “So you disobeyed me… to give me a chance to escape?” Pride swelled up in Psithyra’s chest, not just for her six faithful changelings, but for her elder sister as well. “It seems I owe you an apology, sister.”

“Don’t get all mushy on me now,” Chrysalis sniffed derisively. “I only did it because I still want to conquer this city, and it’s no fun ruling over a pile of ashes.” But Psithyra could smell and taste the affection that her older sister had for her. She had not felt this in a long time.

“And we even managed to get all your armor and weapons back!” Khama brought out a crate with an open top; all of the equipment that the ponies had confiscated from Psithyra was inside. “Nahara put in the order in the guard captain’s schedule to have it moved outside the castle, and then I just picked it up from there.”

Hafet snickered. “Those ponies are going to be so mad that one of their most valued prisoners escaped. Again.”

“If it’s any consolation to them…” Azal said. “At least they have one prisoner in Tartarus.”

“And I would very much prefer it to stay that way,” Chrysalis said. Then her voice grew a touch brittle. “Look. I know you all haven’t had the best opinion of me since the wedding. And…maybe that’s not completely undeserved…” She seemed to be having great difficulty getting the next words out. “But I do want to get better. At being a ruler. That… you can all look up to.”

Chrysalis scuffed her hoof against the floor and looked away. The infiltrators and Psithyra were stunned. They had never heard such honest words from the queen before.

Finally Salegg spoke. “I know I said before that you weren’t my queen. To be fair, you were being a really insufferable jerk at the time. But… you got us our princess back when there wasn’t any hope. That has to count for something. So I take back what I said before. You are my queen, and I will do as you ask. Within reason.”

“Three cheers for Queen Chrysalis!” Hafet whooped. “Hip hip hooray!”

As the six other changelings cheered, Psithyra went up to her sister and rested her head on Chrysalis’s shoulder. Both royal changelings looked each other in the eye, sharing in their unique bond.

“Chrysalis…” Psithyra whispered, feeling the warmth of her older sibling suffuse into her own body. “No matter how bad things get, no matter how angry and frustrated you make me, you are still my sister and I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that.”

And Chrysalis simply held Psithyra close and said, “And I love you.”

Epilogue

By next morning, the rain had stopped. The streets were still laden with sodden puddles and overflowed drains, but the sky was beginning to clear, thanks to the efforts of the weather department. Ponies came out in droves to enjoy the cool air and the bright sunshine that the storm had left behind.

Inside the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlor, the final preparations for Queen Chrysalis’s departure were being made.

Within the onsen room, the six infiltrators stood in a rough circle, their horns all aglow with magical energy. They were preparing to send their queen back to the hive, in the most direct way possible.

Teleportation spells were interesting, Psithyra thought as she strode around the circle of changelings, making sure their stances were perfect and ready. They used the same amount of magical energy regardless of distance, meaning that her own teleport back in Canterlot Castle would have taken as much out of her as if she had teleported all the way across Equestria.

And now they were preparing to actually send something across the country. Using all six infiltrators would offset the energy usage significantly, so that the burden would be shared amongst the senders and the sendees.

Queen Chrysalis loitered around in the corner, holding a bag of chips that she was eating out of.

“I have to say, Equestrian food isn’t bad in terms of flavor,” Chrysalis commented. “Not very filling, but I suppose that’s only to be expected of junk food.” She finished the bag and crumpled it up, using her magic to launch it across the room and right into a bin.

“Would you like us to send you some later?” Psithyra asked, coming over to her elder sister.

Chrysalis shook her head with a grunt. “As nice as it tastes, I don’t want to go soft. Not until I’ve conquered Canterlot properly. And it will happen, as soon as I’ve gathered up my army again.”

“Of course, your majesty,” Psithyra bowed her head slightly. “Do you have everything?”

Chrysalis looked herself over. “Let’s see. Crown, check. Wings, check. Mane, check. I think that’s all.”

“Good. We’ve just reached full thaumic charge on the teleport spell. We can send you right back to the hive. Just step into the center right there,” Psithyra gestured to her loyal infiltrators, who had green magical sparks flying around them as they waited for the spell to be cast.

“I know how a teleport spell works, Psithyra,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “But thank you for the notice all the same.” She buzzed over into the center of the magic circle. “You will write, won’t you?” She asked.

“Every week,” Psithyra promised. “You’ll do the same?”

“If I can remember,” Chrysalis said with a cheeky smile. She flapped her hoof at her younger sister’s reproachful stare. “Okay, alright. I’ll write. I’ll have to get more paper from somewhere; there’s not a lot of it back at the hive.”

“I’ll send you some,” Psithyra lit up her own horn and added her strength to the circle of changelings. “It will be good to help you plot and plan again.”

“Just like old times,” Chrysalis chuckled. “Except maybe go easier on the insults. I am your queen, after all. As well as your older sister.”

“No promises. Say hi to everyone back at the hive for us, won’t you?”

Chrysalis said something, but it was drowned out by the crackling of the teleportation circle. With a bright green flash and the smell of burnt toast, Chrysalis vanished from the room and the magical circle faded away into a flurry of viridian embers.

For a few moments, nobody spoke.

Still with a smile on her face, Psithyra sighed and shook her head playfully. Then she looked around at her six loyal infiltrators and stood up straight.

“Well, what are we waiting for? There are ponies to pamper and secrets to harvest. The ponies won’t hypnotize themselves, you know.”

Marching up the stairs back to the lobby of the spa, the seven changelings morphed into their pony counterparts, ready for work once more. And while their identities and bodies might have been fake, the smiles they all bore were, for once, quite genuine.

FIN

Chapter 1 - Open for Business

Celestia’s sun dawned bright and early on the city of Canterlot, casting its rays over the beautiful capital city of Equestria. The still-sleepy inhabitants were roused one by one, some by alarm clocks and others by servants or family. Many still refused to get up, still sore from the day before, wanting nothing more than to lie in bed and let the day pass them by.

However, in the northern quadrant of Canterlot, two ponies stood outside a large, dome-shaped building with buckets of soapy water, sponges, and mops. One was a pink pegasus mare with a red mane, the other a snow-white unicorn stallion sporting a silver mane. Their names were, respectively, Ruby Gleam and Aeon, and they were employees of the Metamorphosis Spa and Massage Parlour.

Aeon looked up at the top of the Metamorphosis. It was one of Canterlot’s older structures, built about three hundred years ago as an auditorium for speeches and public events, when the population had been smaller. Eventually it had been bought by one of Canterlot’s wealthier aristocrats, only to lose it later when his son gambled away most of the family fortune. It had since then been converted into a center of relaxation, and was reputed to be one of the most luxurious spas in the city.

Not that it looked like it now. In the changeling invasion during the royal wedding, the Metamorphosis had been, like many other buildings in the city, subject to the attacks of the invaders. Sticky green slime was splattered across the top of the dome, and scorch marks from spellcraft dotted the eggshell-white surface of the massage parlour. There had even been a spear lodged through one of the windows, but that was the first thing the two ponies had got to removing.

“What a way to start the day…” Ruby Gleam peeled away a now slime-coated cloth from the window and frowned at it. “Why? Just why are we even in this mess right now?”

Aeon levitated a mop up to the roof and began to wipe off some of the soot and goo. “Because if we don’t clean up the building, ponies won’t come for our services,” He said as neutrally as he could, though he too did not relish the idea of getting up at the crack of dawn just to clean.

“Everything would’ve been just fine.” Ruby Gleam sighed and tossed the cloth away and got out a brush. “Business would’ve been as per usual, but no, Chrysalis had to show up and had to try to take over Canterlot and fail. This sludge wouldn’t be here if not for her.”

“That’s true, what you said,” Aeon noted as he rinsed the mop in a bucket and went back to swabbing. A mail delivery pony trotted past and the unicorn paused to nod good morning at her. “Obviously something went wrong with Chrysalis’ plan.”

Ruby grumbled something and continued cleaning. The pair said very little else for the next few hours as they worked to restore their building to pristine cleanliness, only stopping to get more soapy water from within. By the time they had finished, Canterlot was fully awake and ready to start the day. Aeon spotted other ponies hard at work cleaning many of the other structures that had been dirtied by the changeling invasion. Feeling glad that he and Ruby Gleam had gotten it all done ahead of time, Aeon used his magic to gather up the cleaning implements and headed inside to rinse them all off.

“You go ahead and get some breakfast, Ruby,” Aeon instructed as he left her. “I’ll come join you once I’m done putting things away.”

Ruby Gleam nodded and trotted on after Aeon, eager to get some food into her belly and start the day proper.

Meanwhile, inside the spa, another pair of ponies were hard at work sweeping up the remains of a glass display that had been shattered during the invasion. Or, more accurately, when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance had defeated Chrysalis. There were smears of blood mixed in with the glass fragments, but not red pony blood. This blood was green. The blood of a changeling.

Silent Moon was getting the frame of the display ready to be taken out to the trash. She was a light blue pegasus with a wavy blue and white striped mane done up in a loose braid, and was careful to avoid the jagged bits of glass that still clung to the frame as she pushed it toward the back door of the Metamorphosis. Contrary to her name, Silent Moon was actually quite the sociable pony, though she did not often get the chance to show it. Customers at the spa were interested in rest and relaxation, not a conversation with their masseuses. Placing the metal frame against the spa’s trash cans, Silent Moon trotted back indoors to help her coworker with the glass on the floor.

The other pony, a silver unicorn with a curly, daisy yellow mane, had just finished sweeping away the last of the glass, leaving only the green bloodstains on the tiles.

“Heheh… Did you know if we stick our hooves in this, we can probably climb on the ceiling?” Golden Lily, the unicorn, giggled and pressed a hoof against the green blood.

“As much as I would like to walk on the ceiling, we have to clean it up,” Silent Moon sighed. “Do you think our customers would like to see changeling blood all over the spa?”

Lily tried to pull her hoof up, but it was stuck fast. “Oh. I can’t move.”

Moon picked up a spray bottle of cleaning solvent and squirted it onto Lily’s hoof. The unicorn pulled and her hoof came loose, sending her crashing back into a pile of neatly stacked towels by the side, toppling all of them.

“Ah, I just folded those…” Moon facehoofed and went over to help Lily up. “Come on, we have no time to play about. The spa opens in less than two hours, and we have to get everything all fixed up for our customers.”

Golden Lily pulled a towel off her head. “You think we could get the day off… I mean, the city was just almost taken over yesterday.”

“No dice,” Silent Moon deftly folded up the towels and replaced them on the rack. “After what happened yesterday, there are bound to be ponies who will be in need of a little R&R.”

Moon then picked up the spray bottle and set herself on scrubbing off the green stains. Golden Lily sat there watching for a little while, then stood up.

“I’m going to start getting breakfast ready. Want me to bring you anything?”

“Just some toast,” Moon replied around the bottle in her mouth. “Not sure how much I can stomach right about now.”

“Gotcha. Toast coming right up.”

Golden Lily wound her way through the corridors of the staff-only area of the Metamorphosis and into the kitchen, already putting together a meal in her head. Ruby Gleam was already seated inside, a half-eaten daffodil and daisy sandwich on the table in front of her. The pink pegasus glanced up at Lily and half-heartedly waved a hoof in greeting.

“Morning.”

“Good morning,” Golden Lily said as she pulled some bread out of the fridge. Using her magic, Lily untied the bag and slipped two slices into the toaster. “How was the cleaning?”

Ruby snorted. “You wouldn’t believe the mess that changeling drones can leave, even if it’s just half an hour. Aeon and me were out there at sunrise, scrubbing slime off the roof.”

“They don’t know any better,” Golden Lily retrieved a jar of peanut butter and some marmalade, floating them both over in her green magical aura. “It’s not like a changeling hive is the best place to learn about manners.”

“You got that right,” Ruby took a bite of her sandwich and grimaced. “Ah, my back still hurts from yesterday. Can’t believe we have to work today.”

Lily shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll get any customers today either, but the important thing is that we’re here for them in case there are.”

“Psssh, this is all Chrysalis’ fault. She just had to go and try it. We were doing great till now.” Ruby grumbled sourly. “She had a perfect invasion plan and screwed it up. What even happened to her anyway? The news hasn’t exactly been consistent.”

Lily shrugged and flipped the marmalade jar. “They say she got flung to the badlands. She’s probably still out there, skulking about and plotting revenge or something.”

Ruby Gleam rolled her eyes and wolfed down the rest of her sandwich, stuffing it into her mouth. “I’m going to go tidy up the lobby. Do you know if the mistress is up yet?”

“She’s been up before us,” Lily said as the toast popped up with a ding. She levitated a butterknife over and began to spread marmalade on the slices. “I think she’s composing a letter.”

“Oh, good. Maybe we’ll finally learn what happened up there in the castle.”

“If only…” Lily placed the jars back on the shelves. “What do you think happened, Ruby?”

The pink pegasus rasped and snorted. “If you ask me, something terribly egotistical and stupid.”

“Probably.” Golden Lily finished with her stack of toast and placed it on the dining table, grabbing two slices with her magic. “I’ll get these to Moon. I’ll see you later.”

“Right. Well, back to spa work.”

Ruby Gleam put her plate in the sink and made her way to the lobby. This room, at least, had not been too badly damaged in the invasion. There was a reception desk where Aeon was supposed to sit and greet the customers as they came in, along with several rows of seats that those waiting could sit on, a couple of aromatic potted plants and a shallow pond with some koi fish in it.

Ruby went over to a shelf where some pamphlets were stacked, straightening them. Then she tossed some fish food into the pond for the koi, watching as the fish swarmed toward the edge of the pool.

The glass double doors that served as the spa’s main entrance swung open, allowing a white pegasus to enter, brushing her windswept blue mane out of her eyes as she wheeled a wooden crate into the building.

“Heya, Snowy,” Ruby said as she poured some water on a pot plant. “Is that the new set of cocktail glasses you’ve got in there?”

“Yes,” Snowy Skies replied, parking the crate in the corner of the lobby. “The display case will be delivered the day after tomorrow.” She shook her head and winced. “Of all the things Dahlia could have been thrown into, it had to be a glass stand with crystal glasses on it. Ouch.”

“At least the cocktail lounge survived unscathed,” Ruby mused. “Imagine having to replace our entire stock of liquor. That would cut into our profits for months.”

Snowy Skies picked up a crowbar to open the crate with. “Good for us, I don’t think the love wave affects inanimate objects. I'm just glad we were all inside when it happened.”

“I dunno. Outside might’ve been better. Especially for Dahlia.”

“Maybe. You have breakfast already?”

Ruby Gleam nodded. “There’s some salad in the fridge if you’re interested. I ate the last of the daffodils though. Not that it’ll do me much good.”

“Pass,” Snowy Skies grunted. “I’ll just have some of Aeon’s coffee. Don’t feel like eating anything right now.”

“Mhm,” Ruby agreed. “Oh, by the way, did you deliver Dahlia’s sick slip to the castle?”

“Of course I did. We can’t have ponies wondering why she’s not at work. Though admittedly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of ponies skipped work today.”

“Not us, though,” Ruby pointed out.

Snowy sighed and went back to unpacking the cocktail glasses. “Yeah. Not us.”

When the building that would eventually become the Metamorphosis had been built, construction laws had been different. Due to strictures about the northern quadrant’s skyline and keeping it clear for flying chariots and the like, the height of any structures could not exceed three stories. As such, the architect had been forced to incorporate a series of underground tunnels and rooms in the building’s design, some of which ran very close to the now-defunct gemstone mines that riddled the mountain that Canterlot was built on.

And inside one of these underground rooms, a powder-white unicorn in a sleeping kimono paced back and forth. A sumptuous four-poster bed was the centerpiece of the space, with three wardrobes lining the walls. There was no natural light down here, but the room was well illuminated by a handful of flameless lanterns that hung from the ceiling and were slotted into the walls.

“Insufferable… Insufferable!” she grumbled to herself, wondering what to do about the entire situation, lost in her thoughts as she stomped around her room.

The unicorn tossed her light blue and green mane angrily, casting a glare at a stack of discarded black armor that was piled up in the corner. Another thing to add to her ever-growing list of troubles: armor repairs. At least it had done its job well enough.

Snorting air, the unicorn continued to tramp in circles, pausing only to glance at an antique clock in the corner. An hour and a half until opening time. That would be plenty.

Eventually she got tired of grinding her teeth and pacing, and she lit up her horn to take hold of a quill, inkpot, and a scroll of paper. Then she put the quill and ink back and picked up a pen instead.

“Dear esteemed sister…” The unicorn dictated as the pen scratched away at the paper, held in the grip of her green magical aura. “No, no. I can’t start it like that.”

The sheet was crumpled up and tossed into the general direction of the wastepaper basket, which was overflowing with balled up paper already.

The unicorn muttered something best left unwritten to herself and snatched up another sheet of paper. Chewing on the end of the pen, she scratched out a message, crossed it out, then wrote another one before scrunching up the paper and throwing it away.

Finally she put a hoof to her chest and inhaled deeply, then exhaled. The white unicorn repeated this motion until she felt her heart rate go back down to a semi-normal count. Only then did she put pen to paper and scrawled down a single line.

“What happened to the plan?”

Satisfied, the unicorn folded up the letter and stuffed it into an envelope. Then she touched her horn to it and the entire message vanished in a surge of green fire, finally disappearing with a small pop.

“Now let’s see what you have to say for yourself, Queen Chrysalis,” The unicorn sniffed.

With the letter written, there was nothing else to do but to prepare for the day’s work. The unicorn stepped into her bathroom and turned on the water. Failed changeling invasion or not, she refused to open the spa without having a proper wash first.